Student poverty at the University of Ballarat
- Authors: Newton, Janice , Turale, Sue
- Date: 2000
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Social Issues Vol. 35, no. 3 (2000), p. 251-265
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- Description: This article draws together the findings of two recent studies at the University of Ballarat which suggest that poverty is experienced among a considerable minority of students. In a pilot study of 54 students and a phenomenological study of 17 students. different ways of measuring poverty were considered: the Poverty Line, dependence on a government allowance, cultural criteria and self-perception. It was found that undertaking part-time work failed to protect students from poverty, with significant indebtedness affecting all. Those under the Poverty Line were more likely to he young and male and less likely to he living in a family. Poor students saw their well-being and self-worth affected by poverty as they struggled to escape a cycle of indebtedness and risked academic standards by working longer hours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Australian Journal of Social Issues is the property of Australian Council of Social Service and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Comparing levels of spiritual well-being in state, catholic and independent schools in Victoria, Australia
- Authors: Fisher, John
- Date: 2001
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Beliefs & Values: Studies in Religion & Education Vol. 22, no. 1 (2001), p. 99-105
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- Description: This article reports on a survey completed by Chaplains, Religious Education and Student Welfare Coordinators in State, Catholic and Independent schools in Victoria. Results from this survey support the model of spiritual well-being, which was seen to be reflected in the quality of relationships that people develop with themselves, others, the environment, and with a Transcendent Other. The staff surveyed generally reported positively on current practice and expressed high priorities for action in nurturing their students' spiritual well-being. School type contributed to significant differences in each of these four sets of relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Introducing OO concepts from a class user perspective
- Authors: Smith, Philip , Boyd, Geoffrey
- Date: 2001
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges Vol. 17, no. 2 (2001), p. 152-158
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- Description: The use of an object-oriented language as an introductory language is becoming more widespread (Biddle & Tempero, 1998). However, pedagogical issues relating to the incorporation of such a language are still not understood properly (Kolling, 2001). Approaches to incorporating an object-oriented language into a teaching program vary greatly. Some approaches avoid the issue of object-orientation by putting emphasis on the procedural aspects of the language (Koffman & Wolz, 1999). Others approach the subject from the perspective of a class developer, especially making use of the appeal graphical user interfaces and applets have for students. The approach that we take at the University of Ballarat is to introduce students to programming from the perspective of a class user. This approach is facilitated by the availability of BlueJ (Kolling & Rosenberg, 2001), a program development environment designed explicitly for teaching object-oriented principles using Java. This paper describes this approach and the students' reactions to it.
A survey of the value university students place on studying economics
- Authors: Marangos, John
- Date: 2002
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Economic Papers Vol. 21, no. 3 (2002), p. 80-93
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- Description: Enrolments have always been critical for teaching staff at higher education. Universities allocate their resources among different departments according to enrolment numbers. Meeting the needs of students and building a good reputation, which increases enrolments, are a priority for universities, faculties, departments and teaching staff. Undoubtedly, understanding student's valuation of subjects is a worthwhile activity. It can help teaching staff be more effective in meeting the needs of students and can improve the overall educational performance.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003000214
How university students were planning to study economics? Were their plans realised?
- Authors: Marangos, John
- Date: 2002
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Economic Papers Vol. 21, no. 2 (2002), p. 45-60
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- Description: This paper presents the questionnaire responses of students studying first year Introductory Microeconomics in the Department of Economics at Monash University across three campuses Caulfield, Clayton and Peninsula. The aim was to identify how students were planning to study Microeconomics and whether their plans were realised. In order to derive effective strategies to encourage approaches to study consistent with the changes in curriculum and teaching methods knowledge of the learning methodologies of students was essential.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003000215
A framework for monitoring progress and planning teaching towards the effective use of computer algebra systems
- Authors: Pierce, Robyn , Stacey, Kaye
- Date: 2004
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Computers for Mathematical Learning Vol. 9, no. 1 (2004), p. 59-93
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- Description: This article suggests a framework to organise a cluster of variables that are associated with students' effective use of computer algebra systems (CAS) in mathematics learning. Based on a review of the literature and from the authors' own teaching experience, the framework identifies the main characteristics of students' interactions with CAS technology and how these may be used to monitor students' developing use of CAS; from this, the framework may be used to plan teaching in order to gain greater benefit from the availability of CAS. Four case studies describing students' development over a semester are reported. These demonstrate a variety of combinations of technical competencies and personal attributes. They indicate the importance of both the technical and personal aspects but suggest that negative attitudes rather than technical difficulties can limit the effective use of CAS. Finally practical suggestions are given for teaching strategies which may promote effective use of CAS.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003000923
Christian students' views on terrorism and religion : An Australian study
- Authors: Fisher, John
- Date: 2004
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Christian Education Vol. 46, no. 2 (2004), p. 45-56
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- Description: C1
- Description: 2003000842
Discursive influences on clinical teaching in Australian undergraduate nursing programs
- Authors: McKenna, Lisa , Wellard, Sally
- Date: 2004
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Nurse Education Today Vol. 24, no. 3 (2004), p. 229-235
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- Description: Clinical teaching is a vital, yet multidimensional component of Australian undergraduate nursing courses. Unlike other parts of curricula, clinical teaching relies on the both higher education and health care sectors to meet prescribed goals and for effective student learning to occur. As such it is influenced by discourses from within both education and health. Whilst there is considerable literature related to undergraduate nursing clinical teaching; it mainly deals with practical aspects such as effectiveness of clinical teaching or discussions of models employed. Only a small pool of literature exists that discusses the construction of clinical teaching including the factors that have influenced the development of practices both in the past and present. Using the work of Foucault, this paper examines dominant and competing discourses influencing clinical teaching through their constructions within the literature. These are discourses of academia, nursing, and economics. The discussion situates these discourses and discusses how some of the resultant issues surrounding clinical education remain largely unresolved. Crown Copyright © 2004 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003000838
Feeling good, living life : A spiritual health measure for young children
- Authors: Fisher, John
- Date: 2004
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Beliefs & Values Vol. 25, no. 3 (2004), p. 307-315
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- Description: Following previous work on the spiritual health of secondary students, the author wondered if it was possible to develop a spiritual health measure for younger children. Taking Fisher's model of spiritual health as the basis, items were developed to reflect relationships with self, with others, with the environment and with a god. The children's ideals for spiritual health (what makes them Feel Good) were compared with their lived experience (Living Life) to ascertain their levels of spiritual health. Factor analyses on responses from 1080 students in 14 schools (State, Catholic, Independent and Christian Community Schools) in Victoria and Western Australia are reported in this paper.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003000841
Item response theory analyses of the parent and teacher versions of DSM-IV ADHD rating scales
- Authors: Gomez, Rapson
- Date: 2004
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Psychology Vol. 56, no. (2004), p. 187-187
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- Description: C1
Policy research and 'damaged teachers' : Towards an epistemologically respectful paradigm
- Authors: Smyth, John
- Date: 2004
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Waikato Journal of Education Vol. 10, no. (2004), p. 263-281
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- Description: This paper canvasses one of the most debilitating issues currently disfiguring schools – the absent voices of teachers in the policy reform of schooling. This is a phenomenon that has afflicted schooling around the world for more than three decades, and it is not without effects. The escalating levels of student disaffection, alienation, violence, disengagement and ‘dropping out’ are not unconnected to the marginalisation of teachers and the disrespectful and distrustful ways in which they have been treated by policy makers, politicians and a largely hostile media. What is advanced in its place in this paper is a way of conducting research that restores trust through acknowledging and celebrating the distinctive repertoires of knowledge teachers and students possess, and points to the way in which a more respectful policy paradigm might be re-invented.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003000756
School-based apprenticeships and traineeships in Australia
- Authors: Smith, Erica , Wilson, Lou
- Date: 2004
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Education + Training Vol. 46, no. 2 (2004), p. 64-74
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- Description: In Australia, as in many other countries, initiatives are constantly being developed which aim to assist school students’ transition into work. One such initiative, which was introduced towards the end of the 1990s, was the introduction of school-based apprenticeships and traineeships, often referred to by the umbrella term “school-based new apprenticeships” (SBNAs). Students taking part in these programs, normally in the final two years of schooling (Years 11 and 12), combine part-time work, study towards a vocational education and training (VET) qualification, and normal attendance at school. This paper reports on the first large-scale research study of school-based apprentices and trainees, which was carried out in late 2001 through a survey of students involved in the programs. The survey was carried out in the three Australian States with the highest numbers of school-based apprentices and trainees, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia. The paper commences with a description of the nature of school-based apprenticeships and a description of their introduction and rapid growth. It then gives an overview of the young people’s jobs, their learning and training, and concludes by discussing four problematic areas.
- Description: 2003008056
Taking flight : School reform through actively listening to the voices of early school leavers (and their teachers)
- Authors: Smyth, John
- Date: 2004
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: English in Aotearoa Vol. 54, no. (2004), p. 13-28
- Full Text: false
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- Description: C1
- Description: 2003000757
Adolescents with chronic illnesses : School absenteeism, perceived peer aggression, and loneliness
- Authors: Shute, Rosalyn , Walsh, Christine
- Date: 2005
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: The Scientific World Journal Vol. 5, no. (2005), p. 535-544
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- Description: Frequent school absence is often cited as a risk factor for peer relationship problems in youngsters with chronic illnesses, but this assumption has not been subjected to quantitative empirical examination. This issue was examined in the present study by exploring the relationship between school absenteeism, peer aggression, and loneliness in adolescents with chronic illnesses. Forty-one adolescents with chronic illnesses completed a modified version of the Direct and Indirect Aggression Scale and the Asher Loneliness Scale. Details of school absences and hospitalizations were obtained from parents and school and hospital records. No evidence was found to support the notion that peer aggression and loneliness are related to absenteeism, but social aggression (for both boys and girls) and verbal aggression (more markedly for girls) were associated with loneliness. Of the group, 19% reported experiencing verbal aggression and 12% social aggression at least weekly; informal qualitative data suggesting that such aggression is often related to limited sporting ability and appearance. Interventions at both the individual and school community level are warranted.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003001251
From supervising practica to mentoring professional experience : Possibilities for education students
- Authors: Zeegers, Margaret
- Date: 2005
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Teaching Education Vol. 16, no. 4 (2005), p. 349-357
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- Description: This paper explores the possibilities presented in examining taken for granted aspects of pre-service teacher practicum practices, especially in terms of naming and positioning within teacher education, as they present at a regional university in Ballarat, Australia. The University of Ballarat has introduced a new P-10 teacher education course which is about to enter its fourth year. The course has focused some of its attention on traditional aspects of paid supervisory and assessment roles of practising teachers in relation to student teachers. As a result, changes have been made, with reconfigured foci on the roles of both practising teachers and undergraduate students, as well as those of other staff who support the new programme. One such focus is on what Schön described as "indeterminate zones of practice," and the result has been a research programme exploring those zones as part of mentorship in relation to mandated supervision and assessment requirements for graduate registration. Examination of data provided by transcripts of focus groups conducted with the students, mentors, community coordinators, and university teachers involved in the programmes suggests possibilities that may serve to inform efforts to meet a major part of the challenge to better prepare pre-service teachers in finding innovative and relevant ways to improve practicum experience from the outset of undergraduate education. Those involved in the programme at the University of Ballarat have examined assumptions underlying participants' roles in relation to partnerships within communities of practice in relation to the roles of university and educators in the field, as well as critically examining concepts of mentoring that guide reflection on practice and scaffold student learning. Such considerations go beyond concerns of individual pre-service teacher classroom performances, focusing on the generalizability of pre-service teacher experience in relation to the profession as a whole. © 2005 School of Education, University of Queensland.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003001329
School leadership that is informed by students' and teachers' voices of hope : Reclaiming our lost ways from an Australian perspective
- Authors: Smyth, John
- Date: 2005
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of School Leadership Vol. 15, no. (2005), p. 130-142
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- Description: C1
- Description: 2003001468
Barriers to higher education for Australian rural students
- Authors: Sewell, Jessica
- Date: 2006
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Rural Social Work and Community Practice Vol. 10, no. 2 (2006), p. 23-27
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- Description: This article considers the barriers to higher education currently faced by rural students in Australia. Three barriers to participation in higher education for rural students that appear consistently in the literature are financial pressures, family and community attributes, and physical location. Results of recent studies in this area suggest that these factors often coexist to create one, complex and intertwined barrier which needs to be approach by all involved in a collaborative and cooperative way in order to provide rural people with equitable access to higher education.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003001979
Educational leadership that fosters 'student voice'
- Authors: Smyth, John
- Date: 2006
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International journal of leadership in education: Theory and practice Vol. 9, no. 4 (2006), p. 279-284
- Full Text: false
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- Description: This special issue focuses on a controversial topic that has been kept off the official agenda for far too long in educational circles. The question of how to pursue forms of leadership that listen to and attend to the voices of the most informed, yet marginalized witnesses of schooling, young people, has to be the most urgent issue of our times.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003001901
Transcending educational inequalities across multiple divides : Schools and communities building equitable and literate futures
- Authors: Angus, Lawrence
- Date: 2006
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Learning communities Vol. 3, no. (2006), p. 40-64
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- Description: This paper explores the complex issues of student engagement and school retention from a critical/sociological perspective. Dominant discourses on youth alienation, estrangement and underachievement are generally couched in a language of blame and deficits with responsibility for the problems being sheeted home to (a) individual students, families, neighbourhoods and/or cultural groups (b) teachers and schools, and (c) public education systems. What is largely missing from these discourses is a lack of recognition of the structural inequalities which pervade society and sustain educational disadvantage. Drawing on Paulo Freire’s philosophy and pedagogy, I argue that an analysis of student engagement and disaffection must involve both a critique of the dehumanising forces that operate within and outside schools, and the development of a renewed project for a critical pedagogy that challenges the logic of instrumental reason and neoliberal approaches to education policy. With reference to recent ethnographic research, I discuss the tensions involved in implementing school-based responses in the current policy environment and highlight some of the innovative responses to concerns of educational disadvantage and student engagement in the secondary years of schooling.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003002099
Using secondary students’ views about influences on their spiritual well being to inform pastoral care
- Authors: Fisher, John
- Date: 2006
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Children's Spirituality Vol. 11, no. 3 (2006), p. 347-356
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- Description: Spiritual well-being is reflected in the quality of relationships that each person has in up to four different domains, namely with self, with others, with the environment and/or with God. This study investigated how secondary students perceived relationships with family, friends, school and church community (including God) impacted on their spiritual well-being. This paper reports the views of 1002 secondary school students aged from 12 to 18 years old in Catholic, Christian community and other independent schools in Victoria, Australia. ANOVA and multiple regression analyses of students’ responses on the Quality Of Life Influences Survey developed in this study, and the Spiritual Health And Life Orientation Measure, a spiritual well-being questionnaire for secondary students, revealed significant differences in perceptions students held about influences on their spiritual well-being. A case study illustrates how these instruments can be used to inform pastoral care of young people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]