Adapting structuration theory as a comprehensive theory for distance education : The ASTIDE model
- Aktaruzzaman, Md, Plunkett, Margaret
- Authors: Aktaruzzaman, Md , Plunkett, Margaret
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning Vol. 19, no. 1 (2016), p. 19
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Distance Education (DE) theorists have argued about the requirement for a theory to be comprehensive in a way that can explicate many of the activities associated with DE. Currently, Transactional Distance Theory (TDT) (Moore, 1993) and the Theory of Instructional Dialogue (IDT) (Caspi & Gorsky, 2006) are the most prominent theories, yet they still do not represent a unified and comprehensive theory for DE. This paper provides a review of the existing literature on DE theories and identifies potential gaps in theorising distance education. Building on Giddens’ (1984) work, an innovative approach to theorising DE is proposed through the conceptualisation of the Adapting Structuration Theory In Distance Education (ASTIDE) model as a means to explicate DE operations and practices at the institutional and national/international level. It also presents evidence, from a larger study, of the necessity of a comprehensive model such as the ASTIDE constructed through an investigation into the DE systems of developing and developed countries.
- Authors: Aktaruzzaman, Md , Plunkett, Margaret
- Date: 2016
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning Vol. 19, no. 1 (2016), p. 19
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Distance Education (DE) theorists have argued about the requirement for a theory to be comprehensive in a way that can explicate many of the activities associated with DE. Currently, Transactional Distance Theory (TDT) (Moore, 1993) and the Theory of Instructional Dialogue (IDT) (Caspi & Gorsky, 2006) are the most prominent theories, yet they still do not represent a unified and comprehensive theory for DE. This paper provides a review of the existing literature on DE theories and identifies potential gaps in theorising distance education. Building on Giddens’ (1984) work, an innovative approach to theorising DE is proposed through the conceptualisation of the Adapting Structuration Theory In Distance Education (ASTIDE) model as a means to explicate DE operations and practices at the institutional and national/international level. It also presents evidence, from a larger study, of the necessity of a comprehensive model such as the ASTIDE constructed through an investigation into the DE systems of developing and developed countries.
Fundamental movement skills and physical activity of 3–4-year-old children within early childhood centers in New Zealand
- Ali, Ajmol, McLachlan, Claire, McLaughlin, Tara, Mugridge, Owen, Conlon, Cathryn
- Authors: Ali, Ajmol , McLachlan, Claire , McLaughlin, Tara , Mugridge, Owen , Conlon, Cathryn
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Children Vol. 8, no. 9 (2021), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: We sought to describe and explore relationships between fundamental movement skills (FMS) and level of physical activity (PA; light-, medium-, vigorous, and kCal/hour) in preschool children, aged 3–4-years-old, across four early childhood education (ECE) settings. Children’s FMS were assessed using the Test for Gross Motor Development-2 (TGMD-2; n = 81) and PA via accelerometers (S = 53). Eighty-four children participated, with 50 in both assessments. The TGMD-2 showed as the children got older, their locomotor skills (p < 0.001, r = 0.512) and object control motor skills (p < 0.001, r = 0.383) improved. Accelerometry showed children were primarily inactive at ECE (78.3% of the time). There were significant correlations between kCal/hour and light (p < 0.001, r = −0.688), moderate (p < 0.001, r = 0.599) and vigorous (p < 0.001, rs = 0.707) activity, and between gross motor quotient and locomotor (p < 0.001, r = 0.798) and object control (p < 0.001, r = 0.367) skills. No correlation was observed between gross motor quotient and kCal/hour. To conclude, children in this cohort were primarily inactive during ECE center hours. Moreover, gross motor quotient was significantly correlated to locomotor and object control skills. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. **Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the first 5 including Federation University Australia affiliate “Claire McLaughlin” is provided in this record**
- Authors: Ali, Ajmol , McLachlan, Claire , McLaughlin, Tara , Mugridge, Owen , Conlon, Cathryn
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Children Vol. 8, no. 9 (2021), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: We sought to describe and explore relationships between fundamental movement skills (FMS) and level of physical activity (PA; light-, medium-, vigorous, and kCal/hour) in preschool children, aged 3–4-years-old, across four early childhood education (ECE) settings. Children’s FMS were assessed using the Test for Gross Motor Development-2 (TGMD-2; n = 81) and PA via accelerometers (S = 53). Eighty-four children participated, with 50 in both assessments. The TGMD-2 showed as the children got older, their locomotor skills (p < 0.001, r = 0.512) and object control motor skills (p < 0.001, r = 0.383) improved. Accelerometry showed children were primarily inactive at ECE (78.3% of the time). There were significant correlations between kCal/hour and light (p < 0.001, r = −0.688), moderate (p < 0.001, r = 0.599) and vigorous (p < 0.001, rs = 0.707) activity, and between gross motor quotient and locomotor (p < 0.001, r = 0.798) and object control (p < 0.001, r = 0.367) skills. No correlation was observed between gross motor quotient and kCal/hour. To conclude, children in this cohort were primarily inactive during ECE center hours. Moreover, gross motor quotient was significantly correlated to locomotor and object control skills. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. **Please note that there are multiple authors for this article therefore only the name of the first 5 including Federation University Australia affiliate “Claire McLaughlin” is provided in this record**
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
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- 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
- Authors: Angus, Lawrence
- Date: 2006
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Learning communities Vol. 3, no. (2006), p. 40-64
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- 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
A semester with a Dr Fox : The need to go beyond SETs
- Authors: Backer, Elisa
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: e-Journal of Business Education & Scholarship of Teaching Vol. 2, no. 1 (2008), p. 21-27
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Most higher education institutions use some form of Student Evaluations of Teaching (SET) in order to gather information to gauge teaching performance and unit suitability. The value of SETs has come under increasing scrutiny, particularly in light of the Dr Fox study, which indicated that students are assessing charisma more than content. Similar results to the earlier study were found by the author during the process of moderating a teaching unit with a Dr Fox who had received good student feedback, and yet turned out to have poor subject. Most higher education institutions use some form of Student Evaluations of Teaching (SET) in order to gather information to gauge teaching performance and unit suitability. The value of SETs has come under increasing scrutiny, particularly in light of the Dr Fox study, which indicated that students are assessing charisma more than content.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003006038
- Authors: Backer, Elisa
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: e-Journal of Business Education & Scholarship of Teaching Vol. 2, no. 1 (2008), p. 21-27
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Most higher education institutions use some form of Student Evaluations of Teaching (SET) in order to gather information to gauge teaching performance and unit suitability. The value of SETs has come under increasing scrutiny, particularly in light of the Dr Fox study, which indicated that students are assessing charisma more than content. Similar results to the earlier study were found by the author during the process of moderating a teaching unit with a Dr Fox who had received good student feedback, and yet turned out to have poor subject. Most higher education institutions use some form of Student Evaluations of Teaching (SET) in order to gather information to gauge teaching performance and unit suitability. The value of SETs has come under increasing scrutiny, particularly in light of the Dr Fox study, which indicated that students are assessing charisma more than content.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003006038
Using Smartphones and Facebook in a Major Assessment: The student experience
- Authors: Backer, Elisa
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: e-Journal of Business Education & Scholarship of Teaching Vol. 4, no. 1 (2010), p. 19-31
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the use of an alternative form of assessment employing new technology, such as smartphones and Facebook which are two modern tools that are rapidly increasing in popularity and application in the business environment. Design/methodology/approach – This paper adopts an experimental approach to examine whether these technologies could not only provide students with relevant skills but also increase their learning experience. Research findings and implications – Eleven out of the 12 students reported that the use of smartphones and Facebook increased their motivation, independent learning and sense of responsibility.The implications from this paper are that integrating new technologies into assessment was beneficial to students who had experience with the new technology, however, not all students were capable of using the technology and this requires further work when implementing new technology.
- Authors: Backer, Elisa
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: e-Journal of Business Education & Scholarship of Teaching Vol. 4, no. 1 (2010), p. 19-31
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the use of an alternative form of assessment employing new technology, such as smartphones and Facebook which are two modern tools that are rapidly increasing in popularity and application in the business environment. Design/methodology/approach – This paper adopts an experimental approach to examine whether these technologies could not only provide students with relevant skills but also increase their learning experience. Research findings and implications – Eleven out of the 12 students reported that the use of smartphones and Facebook increased their motivation, independent learning and sense of responsibility.The implications from this paper are that integrating new technologies into assessment was beneficial to students who had experience with the new technology, however, not all students were capable of using the technology and this requires further work when implementing new technology.
Subjects of western education : Discursive practices in western postgraduate studies and the construction of international student subjectivities
- Barron, Deirdre, Zeegers, Margaret
- Authors: Barron, Deirdre , Zeegers, Margaret
- Date: 2006
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Educational Researcher Vol. 33, no. 2 (2006), p. 77-96
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: This paper focuses on discursive practices of postgraduate research as a crucial element in constructs of international student subjectivities when they undertake postgraduate studies in Australian universities. As such, it focuses on a discursive field emerging within domains of internationalisation, globalisation, and resistance. It examines processes and protocols in a number of Australian universities'postgraduate divisions' practices in the conduct of postgraduate supervision, in the context of increasing pressures towards internationalisation within frameworks of globalising influences. It takes issue with Western custom and tradition as privileged within the field of supervision of postgraduate research studies and suggests a model of postgraduate research supervision as intentional and systematic intervention, based on literature deriving from research in postgraduate supervision which acknowledges the problematic natures of cultural relationships as to teaching and learning and knowledge production, and student resistances within these fields. In doing so, it examines issues of discursive practices and the problematic natures of power relationships in supervisor-supervisee protocols and possibilities suggested by alternative models of postgraduate supervision of international students.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003001850
- Authors: Barron, Deirdre , Zeegers, Margaret
- Date: 2006
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Educational Researcher Vol. 33, no. 2 (2006), p. 77-96
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: This paper focuses on discursive practices of postgraduate research as a crucial element in constructs of international student subjectivities when they undertake postgraduate studies in Australian universities. As such, it focuses on a discursive field emerging within domains of internationalisation, globalisation, and resistance. It examines processes and protocols in a number of Australian universities'postgraduate divisions' practices in the conduct of postgraduate supervision, in the context of increasing pressures towards internationalisation within frameworks of globalising influences. It takes issue with Western custom and tradition as privileged within the field of supervision of postgraduate research studies and suggests a model of postgraduate research supervision as intentional and systematic intervention, based on literature deriving from research in postgraduate supervision which acknowledges the problematic natures of cultural relationships as to teaching and learning and knowledge production, and student resistances within these fields. In doing so, it examines issues of discursive practices and the problematic natures of power relationships in supervisor-supervisee protocols and possibilities suggested by alternative models of postgraduate supervision of international students.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003001850
Tourism skills delivery : Sharing tourism knowledge online
- Braun, Patrice, Hollick, Mary
- Authors: Braun, Patrice , Hollick, Mary
- Date: 2006
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Education and Training Vol. 48, no. 8-9 (2006), p. 693-703
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to share the authors' initial insights into tourism industry capacity building via flexibly delivered online skilling and knowledge sharing. Design/methodology/approach - An online research survey approach was employed, involving a sample of 64 micro tourism operators. Findings - The paper finds that the major benefits perceived by operators across the pilot region, were the time saving aspects demonstrated in the smart form concept. Operators were also drawn in by the best practise examples and direct links to the online resources to bring and keep them up to date with industry information and developments. Research limitations/implications - The data presented in this paper represent initial findings of the pilot project. The project has since been completed. Practical implications - The model used for the pilot in this paper has been adopted by the Tourism Accreditation Board of Victoria and is now being considered for national rollout across Australia. The model is a practical and replicable capacity building model for micro tourism operators anywhere. Originality/value - The paper adopts a collaborative learning network approach to micro business capacity building and training.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003001777
- Authors: Braun, Patrice , Hollick, Mary
- Date: 2006
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Education and Training Vol. 48, no. 8-9 (2006), p. 693-703
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to share the authors' initial insights into tourism industry capacity building via flexibly delivered online skilling and knowledge sharing. Design/methodology/approach - An online research survey approach was employed, involving a sample of 64 micro tourism operators. Findings - The paper finds that the major benefits perceived by operators across the pilot region, were the time saving aspects demonstrated in the smart form concept. Operators were also drawn in by the best practise examples and direct links to the online resources to bring and keep them up to date with industry information and developments. Research limitations/implications - The data presented in this paper represent initial findings of the pilot project. The project has since been completed. Practical implications - The model used for the pilot in this paper has been adopted by the Tourism Accreditation Board of Victoria and is now being considered for national rollout across Australia. The model is a practical and replicable capacity building model for micro tourism operators anywhere. Originality/value - The paper adopts a collaborative learning network approach to micro business capacity building and training.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003001777
Pre-apprenticeships in Australia : Differing orientations and their policy implications
- Authors: Dumbrell, Tom , Smith, Erica
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Vocational Education and Training Vol. 65, no. 2 (2013), p. 161-176
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Little has been published in the Australian vocational education and training (VET) literature on the topic of pre-apprenticeships, which are a loose type of preparatory courses for apprenticeships available in some trades. Nevertheless, pre-apprenticeships have been in existence for several decades. With continuing concern over skill shortages in Australia, the research study on which this paper is based investigated the role of pre-apprenticeship courses in addressing skill shortages in the electrotechnology, automotive and engineering trades, some of the largest 'traditional trades' in Australia, and those with sizeable numbers in pre-apprenticeships. The principal objective of the overall study was to determine whether the use of pre-apprenticeships increased the size and suitability of the supply of entrants to the traditional apprenticeships and whether pre-apprenticeships do or might increase completion rates in apprenticeships. The paper uses findings from the study to develop a typology of pre-apprenticeship courses, proposing two fundamental orientations and discussing whether different orientations towards pre-apprenticeships are compatible with one another. © 2013 Copyright The Vocational Aspect of Education Ltd.
- Description: 2003011101
- Authors: Dumbrell, Tom , Smith, Erica
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Vocational Education and Training Vol. 65, no. 2 (2013), p. 161-176
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Little has been published in the Australian vocational education and training (VET) literature on the topic of pre-apprenticeships, which are a loose type of preparatory courses for apprenticeships available in some trades. Nevertheless, pre-apprenticeships have been in existence for several decades. With continuing concern over skill shortages in Australia, the research study on which this paper is based investigated the role of pre-apprenticeship courses in addressing skill shortages in the electrotechnology, automotive and engineering trades, some of the largest 'traditional trades' in Australia, and those with sizeable numbers in pre-apprenticeships. The principal objective of the overall study was to determine whether the use of pre-apprenticeships increased the size and suitability of the supply of entrants to the traditional apprenticeships and whether pre-apprenticeships do or might increase completion rates in apprenticeships. The paper uses findings from the study to develop a typology of pre-apprenticeship courses, proposing two fundamental orientations and discussing whether different orientations towards pre-apprenticeships are compatible with one another. © 2013 Copyright The Vocational Aspect of Education Ltd.
- Description: 2003011101
Alternative settings - alternative teachers? Reflections on teaching outside the mainstream
- Dyson, Michael, Plunkett, Margaret
- Authors: Dyson, Michael , Plunkett, Margaret
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Joint AARE-APERA conference,Australian Association for Research in Education p. 1-12
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: While alternative educational settings in Australia have expanded over the past two decades, there has been little formal research conducted into teacher perceptions of what it means to teach outside the mainstream. This paper outlines part of a longitudinal study involving the School for Student Leadership (SSL), an alternate educational setting in Victoria, Australia, which offers residential programs for Year 9 students. The SSL began operating in 2000 as the Alpine School situated at Dinner Plain and since then two further campuses have been added. A research partnership between Monash University Gippsland and the SSL began in 2001, with this component commencing in 2009 involving a mixed methods study consisting of both surveys and interviews. The focus of this paper is the qualitative findings resulting from interviews with 33 teachers across the 3 campuses. While a small body of literature relating to environmental and experiential education (Brown, 2006, Schartner, 2000, Simmons, 1988, Smith-Cabasto & Cavern, 2006) from a teaching perspective does exist, none really captures the breadth of the type of program offered through the SSL, which does not sit in isolation from broader educational, social and global discourses. While there is an ongoing debate about how we should educate young people there are some points of general agreement. One is that we live in a world of rapid global, technological and social change and education should equip young people to deal with these changes. This particular research provided an opportunity to seek teachers' perceptions about whether this goal was easier to achieve in a non-traditional setting. A particular focus was on participants' current perceptions about their role as 'teacher' and whether it differed depending on the setting. The findings provided interesting insights about the focus of the teachers that choose to become involved, with most suggesting that they were searching for more meaningful ways to connect their pedagogy and practice. They also felt that mainstream settings rarely provided opportunities for the development of substantive relationships with students. There was an acknowledgement that the alternate setting of the SSL did provide a greater opportunity for equipping students to deal with change but this also required teachers to respond differently, shifting the emphasis from content to context and from being a teacher to being an educator, facilitator or mentor.
- Authors: Dyson, Michael , Plunkett, Margaret
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Joint AARE-APERA conference,Australian Association for Research in Education p. 1-12
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: While alternative educational settings in Australia have expanded over the past two decades, there has been little formal research conducted into teacher perceptions of what it means to teach outside the mainstream. This paper outlines part of a longitudinal study involving the School for Student Leadership (SSL), an alternate educational setting in Victoria, Australia, which offers residential programs for Year 9 students. The SSL began operating in 2000 as the Alpine School situated at Dinner Plain and since then two further campuses have been added. A research partnership between Monash University Gippsland and the SSL began in 2001, with this component commencing in 2009 involving a mixed methods study consisting of both surveys and interviews. The focus of this paper is the qualitative findings resulting from interviews with 33 teachers across the 3 campuses. While a small body of literature relating to environmental and experiential education (Brown, 2006, Schartner, 2000, Simmons, 1988, Smith-Cabasto & Cavern, 2006) from a teaching perspective does exist, none really captures the breadth of the type of program offered through the SSL, which does not sit in isolation from broader educational, social and global discourses. While there is an ongoing debate about how we should educate young people there are some points of general agreement. One is that we live in a world of rapid global, technological and social change and education should equip young people to deal with these changes. This particular research provided an opportunity to seek teachers' perceptions about whether this goal was easier to achieve in a non-traditional setting. A particular focus was on participants' current perceptions about their role as 'teacher' and whether it differed depending on the setting. The findings provided interesting insights about the focus of the teachers that choose to become involved, with most suggesting that they were searching for more meaningful ways to connect their pedagogy and practice. They also felt that mainstream settings rarely provided opportunities for the development of substantive relationships with students. There was an acknowledgement that the alternate setting of the SSL did provide a greater opportunity for equipping students to deal with change but this also required teachers to respond differently, shifting the emphasis from content to context and from being a teacher to being an educator, facilitator or mentor.
Educating generation Y in alternate settings : What seems to work
- Authors: Dyson, Michael , Zink, Robyn
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Australian Association for Research in Education
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Abstract: This paper presents one element of our research conducted in a contemporary, yet alternate, school setting. This setting provides ten-week residential programs for Year nine students. Year nine has been identified as a significant time when students become disengaged with schooling. These Year nine students also belong to a group known as Generation Y (Gen Y). This group is characterised as having difficulties with communication, developing relationships and functioning as a community. However, our research, at the 'Remote School' suggests that the students in this residential school develop skills that enable them to communicate more effectively and establish relationships with others. One of the key aspects of this appears to be the relationships they form with each other and with the staff while on the program. The environment, or the ecosystem developed in this unique setting, allows students to interact more explicitly with the complexity of life and, in doing so, recognise diversity and the shades of grey, which start to colour their worlds. The students talk about feeling challenged in forming relationships and about comprehending more about themselves, how they operate and how others operate. It would seem likely that there is a gap in understanding the capacities of Year nine students and Gen Y students, who are construed as being difficult to communicate with, form relationships with, or fail to function effectively in communities. It is this gap in understanding, based on the experiences of the young people at the Remote School, which we explore in this paper.
- Authors: Dyson, Michael , Zink, Robyn
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Australian Association for Research in Education
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Abstract: This paper presents one element of our research conducted in a contemporary, yet alternate, school setting. This setting provides ten-week residential programs for Year nine students. Year nine has been identified as a significant time when students become disengaged with schooling. These Year nine students also belong to a group known as Generation Y (Gen Y). This group is characterised as having difficulties with communication, developing relationships and functioning as a community. However, our research, at the 'Remote School' suggests that the students in this residential school develop skills that enable them to communicate more effectively and establish relationships with others. One of the key aspects of this appears to be the relationships they form with each other and with the staff while on the program. The environment, or the ecosystem developed in this unique setting, allows students to interact more explicitly with the complexity of life and, in doing so, recognise diversity and the shades of grey, which start to colour their worlds. The students talk about feeling challenged in forming relationships and about comprehending more about themselves, how they operate and how others operate. It would seem likely that there is a gap in understanding the capacities of Year nine students and Gen Y students, who are construed as being difficult to communicate with, form relationships with, or fail to function effectively in communities. It is this gap in understanding, based on the experiences of the young people at the Remote School, which we explore in this paper.
Shifting the focus in teacher education: foregrounding the value of teacher/student relationships
- Dyson, Michael, Plunkett, Margaret
- Authors: Dyson, Michael , Plunkett, Margaret
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: The Australian Teacher Education Association Conference p. 1-6
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Alternate or non-traditional educational settings within Australia have undergone a period of expansion over the last decade, yet there has not been any substantive recognition of this growth within teacher education programs (Plunkett & Dyson, 2010). However, since 2000 a research partnership that has been operating between one of Victoria’s most innovative alternate educational settings - the School for Student Leadership (SSL) and Monash University, has attempted to redress the dearth of research into alternate settings and related potential change within Teacher Education. This paper reports on part of that ongoing longitudinal mixed method study, specifically highlighting the impact that reflection on practice, which is built into the program, has had on building positive relationships between staff and Year 9 students (Dyson & Plunkett, 2010). Findings support Mezirow’s (1991) contention that transformative learning occurs as the result of the reflection process, which in turn leads to a shift in the role and nature of the teacher and allows for openness in communication with students, creating enhanced relationships. As acknowledged by both Cranton (2007) and Glasser (1998) the recognition of the importance of self and ones values and beliefs in relation to others is an essential part of learning. In particular we suggest that connectedness, especially between teacher and students, promotes active engagement concomitantly enhancing transformative learning. We propose that it is important that an understanding of these factors should foreground any discussions about future developments in teacher education.
- Authors: Dyson, Michael , Plunkett, Margaret
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: The Australian Teacher Education Association Conference p. 1-6
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Alternate or non-traditional educational settings within Australia have undergone a period of expansion over the last decade, yet there has not been any substantive recognition of this growth within teacher education programs (Plunkett & Dyson, 2010). However, since 2000 a research partnership that has been operating between one of Victoria’s most innovative alternate educational settings - the School for Student Leadership (SSL) and Monash University, has attempted to redress the dearth of research into alternate settings and related potential change within Teacher Education. This paper reports on part of that ongoing longitudinal mixed method study, specifically highlighting the impact that reflection on practice, which is built into the program, has had on building positive relationships between staff and Year 9 students (Dyson & Plunkett, 2010). Findings support Mezirow’s (1991) contention that transformative learning occurs as the result of the reflection process, which in turn leads to a shift in the role and nature of the teacher and allows for openness in communication with students, creating enhanced relationships. As acknowledged by both Cranton (2007) and Glasser (1998) the recognition of the importance of self and ones values and beliefs in relation to others is an essential part of learning. In particular we suggest that connectedness, especially between teacher and students, promotes active engagement concomitantly enhancing transformative learning. We propose that it is important that an understanding of these factors should foreground any discussions about future developments in teacher education.
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
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003000842
- Authors: Fisher, John
- Date: 2004
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Christian Education Vol. 46, no. 2 (2004), p. 45-56
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003000842
Classroom assessment as a reciprocal practice to develop students’ agency : A social cognitive perspective
- Authors: Fletcher, Anna
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Assessment Matters Vol. 12, no. (2018), p. 34-57
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The links among theory, teaching practice, and evidence of student learning have increasingly gained traction in the public discourse in much of the Western world, as educational policy makers seek to bring together accountability demands with the push for improvements in student learning. This article draws on the notion of teaching and assessment as generations informed by diverse theoretical viewpoints. The article pursues three goals. First, it identifies distinct elements of social cognitive theory and the concept of triadic reciprocality in relation to the concepts of student agency and reciprocity between teachers and students’ in-classroom assessment as a learning process. Secondly, the article outlines the transformation of assessment practice over three generations of pedagogical theory. Thirdly, it argues that social cognitive theory offers a recalibrated understanding of assessment as a student-centred learning process.
- Authors: Fletcher, Anna
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Assessment Matters Vol. 12, no. (2018), p. 34-57
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The links among theory, teaching practice, and evidence of student learning have increasingly gained traction in the public discourse in much of the Western world, as educational policy makers seek to bring together accountability demands with the push for improvements in student learning. This article draws on the notion of teaching and assessment as generations informed by diverse theoretical viewpoints. The article pursues three goals. First, it identifies distinct elements of social cognitive theory and the concept of triadic reciprocality in relation to the concepts of student agency and reciprocity between teachers and students’ in-classroom assessment as a learning process. Secondly, the article outlines the transformation of assessment practice over three generations of pedagogical theory. Thirdly, it argues that social cognitive theory offers a recalibrated understanding of assessment as a student-centred learning process.
Getting connected : Insights into social capital from recent adult learning research
- Authors: Golding, Barry
- Date: 2007
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Adult Learning Vol. 47, no. 1 (2007), p. 10-24
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- Description: This paper begins by teasing out the nature of social capital and its particular and current relevance to adult learning policy and practice in Australia. The paper identifies a number of benefits and significant problems with social capital as an organising construct for adult learning research and policy in Australia. Some connections are made between social capital and lifelong learning, and important distinctions are drawn between 'bonding' and 'bridging' social capital. I draw on my experiences and insights over the past seven years using network diagrams as a research tool. Network diagrams are identified as a useful tool for charting relationships between learning organisations and individuals. The paper suggests ways of using the network relationships in these diagrams as a proxy for social capital in a range of formal and informal settings in which adult learning occurs in Australia. Network diagrams are seen to have particular utility in situations where communities and organisations become too small for surveys, where relationships become complex and ambiguous as well as in rural and remote communities where distance and spatial relationships affect access to learning.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003005519
- Authors: Golding, Barry
- Date: 2007
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Adult Learning Vol. 47, no. 1 (2007), p. 10-24
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: This paper begins by teasing out the nature of social capital and its particular and current relevance to adult learning policy and practice in Australia. The paper identifies a number of benefits and significant problems with social capital as an organising construct for adult learning research and policy in Australia. Some connections are made between social capital and lifelong learning, and important distinctions are drawn between 'bonding' and 'bridging' social capital. I draw on my experiences and insights over the past seven years using network diagrams as a research tool. Network diagrams are identified as a useful tool for charting relationships between learning organisations and individuals. The paper suggests ways of using the network relationships in these diagrams as a proxy for social capital in a range of formal and informal settings in which adult learning occurs in Australia. Network diagrams are seen to have particular utility in situations where communities and organisations become too small for surveys, where relationships become complex and ambiguous as well as in rural and remote communities where distance and spatial relationships affect access to learning.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003005519
Houses and sheds in Australia : an exploration of the genesis and growth of neighbourhood houses and men's sheds in community settings
- Golding, Barry, Kimberley, Helen, Foley, Annette, Brown, Michael
- Authors: Golding, Barry , Kimberley, Helen , Foley, Annette , Brown, Michael
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Adult Learning Vol. 48, no. 2 (Jul 2008), p. 237-262
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- Description: This article reviews research into the genesis and spread of both neighbourhood houses and learning centres in Victoria and community-based men's sheds in Australia to identify some similarities and differences. Our article asks questions about the gendered communities of practice that underpin houses for women on the one hand, and sheds for men on the other. Our particular interest is with the gender issues associated with the development of the relatively mature neighbourhood house 'sector', and those associated with the very recent and developing community-based men's sheds 'sector'. Our underpinning research question has to do with the desirability (or otherwise) in each of these sectors of political and strategic decisions being either gender specific or gender neutral. We identify a number of tantalising parallels between the rationale behind the establishment of both sectors,for women and men, albeit in very different circumstances, along with some obvious differences.
- Description: C1
- Authors: Golding, Barry , Kimberley, Helen , Foley, Annette , Brown, Michael
- Date: 2008
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Adult Learning Vol. 48, no. 2 (Jul 2008), p. 237-262
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: This article reviews research into the genesis and spread of both neighbourhood houses and learning centres in Victoria and community-based men's sheds in Australia to identify some similarities and differences. Our article asks questions about the gendered communities of practice that underpin houses for women on the one hand, and sheds for men on the other. Our particular interest is with the gender issues associated with the development of the relatively mature neighbourhood house 'sector', and those associated with the very recent and developing community-based men's sheds 'sector'. Our underpinning research question has to do with the desirability (or otherwise) in each of these sectors of political and strategic decisions being either gender specific or gender neutral. We identify a number of tantalising parallels between the rationale behind the establishment of both sectors,for women and men, albeit in very different circumstances, along with some obvious differences.
- Description: C1
The big picture on men's (and boys') learning
- Authors: Golding, Barry
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Adult Learning Vol. 50, no. 1 (2010), p. 54
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- Description: This paper focuses on what is known internationally from research about some aspects of men’s learning. It explores the similar and different factors that shape men’s attitudes towards learning in diverse national and cultural contexts. It also identifies some possible parallels (and differences) between the experiences, participation and outcomes in education of men and boys. The paper proceeds to make a case for recognising and addressing the factors that affect gender parity in educational contexts, including Australia, in which several tertiary outcome measures tend to be skewed towards girls and women. The paper forms part of background research for Phase 1 (in several Anglophone nations) of a major international research project into men's learning in community settings that includes several Australian study sites.
- Authors: Golding, Barry
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Adult Learning Vol. 50, no. 1 (2010), p. 54
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: This paper focuses on what is known internationally from research about some aspects of men’s learning. It explores the similar and different factors that shape men’s attitudes towards learning in diverse national and cultural contexts. It also identifies some possible parallels (and differences) between the experiences, participation and outcomes in education of men and boys. The paper proceeds to make a case for recognising and addressing the factors that affect gender parity in educational contexts, including Australia, in which several tertiary outcome measures tend to be skewed towards girls and women. The paper forms part of background research for Phase 1 (in several Anglophone nations) of a major international research project into men's learning in community settings that includes several Australian study sites.
Social, local and situated: Recent findings about the effectiveness of older men's Informal learning in community contexts
- Authors: Golding, Barry
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Adult Education Quarterly Vol. 61, no. 2 (2011), p. 103-120
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- Description: The informal learning that older (age 50+) men experience in Australia has been the subject of a suite of recent, intensive, mixed methods research projects in community-based voluntary organizations. The purpose of the research was to examine where men are learning in these contexts beyond work and formal education rather than to assume and problematize older men as nonlearners. This article draws together strands of completed field research to suggest that learning is effective for older men in community settings when it is social, local, practical, situated, and in groups, particularly for older, sometimes isolated men who have experienced a range of setbacks in life. While older Australian men tend to be missing from adult and community education (ACE) providers, they are able to informally share hands-on skills from their work lives with other men of all ages, with a range of important benefits to their own well-being, the well-being of other men, and the well-being of their communities. Some future areas for comparative international research are identified.
- Authors: Golding, Barry
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Adult Education Quarterly Vol. 61, no. 2 (2011), p. 103-120
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The informal learning that older (age 50+) men experience in Australia has been the subject of a suite of recent, intensive, mixed methods research projects in community-based voluntary organizations. The purpose of the research was to examine where men are learning in these contexts beyond work and formal education rather than to assume and problematize older men as nonlearners. This article draws together strands of completed field research to suggest that learning is effective for older men in community settings when it is social, local, practical, situated, and in groups, particularly for older, sometimes isolated men who have experienced a range of setbacks in life. While older Australian men tend to be missing from adult and community education (ACE) providers, they are able to informally share hands-on skills from their work lives with other men of all ages, with a range of important benefits to their own well-being, the well-being of other men, and the well-being of their communities. Some future areas for comparative international research are identified.
The women’s shed movement : scoping the field internationally
- Golding, Barry, Carragher, Lucia, Foley, Annette
- Authors: Golding, Barry , Carragher, Lucia , Foley, Annette
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Adult Learning Vol. 61, no. 2 (2021), p. 150-174
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- Description: Our paper focuses on delineating and scoping international Women’s Sheds, a movement that has emerged within the past decade, mainly in Australia, Ireland and the UK. It addresses two main research questions. Firstly, what is the origin, distribution, nature and intent of Women’s Sheds internationally to March 2021? Secondly, how might Women’s Sheds be located within a typology inclusive of Men’s Sheds and a range of community development models? We employed a systematic search via the internet in 2020-21, followed up by attempted email or phone contact to publicly reported Women’s Sheds and like organisations internationally. In the process, we created a publicly shareable blog including a database of 122 existing, previously active, developing or planned Women’s Sheds and like organisations to 13 March 2021. We identify four nations where self-identified Women’s Sheds have operated or commenced within the past decade: Australia (61), the UK (30), Ireland (28) and New Zealand (3), particularly during the five years between 2014 and 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic seriously curtailed this previous momentum and development after March 2020. We identify some similarities but also important differences between Women’s and Men’s Sheds. We propose a typology that accounts not only for the different ways in which Women’s Sheds operate and women participate within their communities but also the different ways in which they locally collaborate (or not) with Men’s Sheds in different countries. We conclude that Women’s Sheds have largely been created by women in order to claim the shed as a positive female gendered space, in order to create an alternative community of women’s hands-on practice. © 2021, Adult Learning Australia. All rights reserved.
- Authors: Golding, Barry , Carragher, Lucia , Foley, Annette
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Journal of Adult Learning Vol. 61, no. 2 (2021), p. 150-174
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Our paper focuses on delineating and scoping international Women’s Sheds, a movement that has emerged within the past decade, mainly in Australia, Ireland and the UK. It addresses two main research questions. Firstly, what is the origin, distribution, nature and intent of Women’s Sheds internationally to March 2021? Secondly, how might Women’s Sheds be located within a typology inclusive of Men’s Sheds and a range of community development models? We employed a systematic search via the internet in 2020-21, followed up by attempted email or phone contact to publicly reported Women’s Sheds and like organisations internationally. In the process, we created a publicly shareable blog including a database of 122 existing, previously active, developing or planned Women’s Sheds and like organisations to 13 March 2021. We identify four nations where self-identified Women’s Sheds have operated or commenced within the past decade: Australia (61), the UK (30), Ireland (28) and New Zealand (3), particularly during the five years between 2014 and 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic seriously curtailed this previous momentum and development after March 2020. We identify some similarities but also important differences between Women’s and Men’s Sheds. We propose a typology that accounts not only for the different ways in which Women’s Sheds operate and women participate within their communities but also the different ways in which they locally collaborate (or not) with Men’s Sheds in different countries. We conclude that Women’s Sheds have largely been created by women in order to claim the shed as a positive female gendered space, in order to create an alternative community of women’s hands-on practice. © 2021, Adult Learning Australia. All rights reserved.
“Undoing” Gender: how the School of Science, Engineering and Information Technology SEIT Women’s group works across university and community lines to promote inclusive STEM
- Goriss-Hunter, Anitra, Echter, Adele, Firmin, Sally, Oseni, Taiwa
- Authors: Goriss-Hunter, Anitra , Echter, Adele , Firmin, Sally , Oseni, Taiwa
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Studies in Adult Education Vol. 24, no. 3 (2018), p. 3-9
- Full Text:
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- Description: Research on gender and education in industrialised and developing countries suggests that schools and universities are sites of ‘doing’ rather than ‘undoing’ gender. Deutsch (2007) contends that ‘doing gender’ refers to social interactions that reproduce conventional and limiting notions of gender construction and that ‘undoing gender’ refers to social interactions that reduce gender difference and open up other possibilities. In this paper we consider how educational institutions can be strategic sites of influence in undoing gender and we investigate some ways that gender is ‘undone’ through the example of the work of the Science, Engineering and Information Technology Women’s Group (SEITWG) located in the Faculty of Science and Technology at Federation University Australia. For this purpose, a self-study methodology understood as a professional reflection was used. The paper explores how the informal coalition of SEITWG works as ‘wilful subjects’, on the one hand, coming up against some of the ‘brick walls’ of dominant discourse that attempt to limit women’s participation in STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine). On the other hand, SEITWG attempts to move beyond the restrictions of conventional gender narratives to encourage more women to participate in STEMM by foregrounding the presence of women already active in the area; mentoring women students and staff; supporting a range of their colleagues’ endeavours to research and teach for inclusion; embedding gender analysis into the curriculum; and promoting workplace cultural change.
- Authors: Goriss-Hunter, Anitra , Echter, Adele , Firmin, Sally , Oseni, Taiwa
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Studies in Adult Education Vol. 24, no. 3 (2018), p. 3-9
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Research on gender and education in industrialised and developing countries suggests that schools and universities are sites of ‘doing’ rather than ‘undoing’ gender. Deutsch (2007) contends that ‘doing gender’ refers to social interactions that reproduce conventional and limiting notions of gender construction and that ‘undoing gender’ refers to social interactions that reduce gender difference and open up other possibilities. In this paper we consider how educational institutions can be strategic sites of influence in undoing gender and we investigate some ways that gender is ‘undone’ through the example of the work of the Science, Engineering and Information Technology Women’s Group (SEITWG) located in the Faculty of Science and Technology at Federation University Australia. For this purpose, a self-study methodology understood as a professional reflection was used. The paper explores how the informal coalition of SEITWG works as ‘wilful subjects’, on the one hand, coming up against some of the ‘brick walls’ of dominant discourse that attempt to limit women’s participation in STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine). On the other hand, SEITWG attempts to move beyond the restrictions of conventional gender narratives to encourage more women to participate in STEMM by foregrounding the presence of women already active in the area; mentoring women students and staff; supporting a range of their colleagues’ endeavours to research and teach for inclusion; embedding gender analysis into the curriculum; and promoting workplace cultural change.
The frustrated career : Casual employment in higher education
- Gottschalk, Lorene, McEachern, Steven
- Authors: Gottschalk, Lorene , McEachern, Steven
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Universities Review Vol. 52, no. 1 (2010), p. 37-50
- Full Text:
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- Description: The use of casual staff, including casual teaching staff, is a common practice in Australian universities and the numbers of casual staff in the sector has increased significantly in the last decade. The traditional profile for casual teachers was that of industry expert and students. Recent research has shown that the casual teacher is now more likely to be a person holding several casual jobs and seeking a career. Likewise, general staff in casual positions are often people who would prefer job security and a career. This research was conducted at a regional Australian university and used a questionnaire targeting staff in both the Technical and Further Education (TAFE) and higher education divisions in all occupational groups as well as in depth interviews of casual teaching staff. The findings show that the traditional profile no longer applies. Staff employed in casual positions often hold more than one job, at more than one institution and are seeking job security. They frequently, but unsuccessfully use casual work as a career strategy. The result is frustrated careers. [Author abstract]
- Description: 2003008238
- Authors: Gottschalk, Lorene , McEachern, Steven
- Date: 2010
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Universities Review Vol. 52, no. 1 (2010), p. 37-50
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The use of casual staff, including casual teaching staff, is a common practice in Australian universities and the numbers of casual staff in the sector has increased significantly in the last decade. The traditional profile for casual teachers was that of industry expert and students. Recent research has shown that the casual teacher is now more likely to be a person holding several casual jobs and seeking a career. Likewise, general staff in casual positions are often people who would prefer job security and a career. This research was conducted at a regional Australian university and used a questionnaire targeting staff in both the Technical and Further Education (TAFE) and higher education divisions in all occupational groups as well as in depth interviews of casual teaching staff. The findings show that the traditional profile no longer applies. Staff employed in casual positions often hold more than one job, at more than one institution and are seeking job security. They frequently, but unsuccessfully use casual work as a career strategy. The result is frustrated careers. [Author abstract]
- Description: 2003008238