Australian Volunteers Abroad in Communities in the Asia/Pacific Region. Each year over 300 Australian volunteers work abroad in communities in the Asia Pacific region. This project researches key questions about the role of volunteers in contributing to regional stability, community capacity building and poverty alleviation. The research also explores questions about the preparation and knowledge required for overseas volunteers working in local communities in the future. The project aims to ana ....Australian Volunteers Abroad in Communities in the Asia/Pacific Region. Each year over 300 Australian volunteers work abroad in communities in the Asia Pacific region. This project researches key questions about the role of volunteers in contributing to regional stability, community capacity building and poverty alleviation. The research also explores questions about the preparation and knowledge required for overseas volunteers working in local communities in the future. The project aims to analyse an important aspect of Australia's interaction with the Asia Pacific region; identify key features of volunteering from the perspective of volunteers, volunteer organisations, host communities and government; and develop up-to-date research material and procedures for preparing Australian volunteers.Read moreRead less
Youth-led learning: local connections and global citizenship. Focussing on social connections across racial and religious boundaries, the project directly addresses two areas of immediate national concern: young peoples' wellbeing, and Australia's relationship with its neighbours. The project will generate a new model of sustainable partnership across NGOs and learning institutions to provide youth-led, global education programs for school-aged youth, promoting learning from a local basis about ....Youth-led learning: local connections and global citizenship. Focussing on social connections across racial and religious boundaries, the project directly addresses two areas of immediate national concern: young peoples' wellbeing, and Australia's relationship with its neighbours. The project will generate a new model of sustainable partnership across NGOs and learning institutions to provide youth-led, global education programs for school-aged youth, promoting learning from a local basis about global issues. In creating this shared evidence base the project will benefit two industry sectors (NGOs and Education) and facilitate the development of effective processes toward young people's greater participation in social life.Read moreRead less
Social Futures and Life Pathways of Young People in Queensland: Waves 2 and 3 of Longitudinal Study. Much has been written about the unprecedented change in society and how it impacts on the identities of young people. It has been argued that young people's life trajectories are much more diverse, flexible and unpredictable than they were in the past. In 2006 the investigators surveyed over 6000 young Queenslanders aged 13 about what they think of their future and how they cope with change. This ....Social Futures and Life Pathways of Young People in Queensland: Waves 2 and 3 of Longitudinal Study. Much has been written about the unprecedented change in society and how it impacts on the identities of young people. It has been argued that young people's life trajectories are much more diverse, flexible and unpredictable than they were in the past. In 2006 the investigators surveyed over 6000 young Queenslanders aged 13 about what they think of their future and how they cope with change. This project follows-up participants when they are 15 and 17 to provide important information for researchers, policymakers and others about how young people think about their futures, engage with society, and move through school, work and family in a world of rapid change and uncertainty.Read moreRead less
Re-engaging disadvantaged young people with learning. Having significant numbers of young people, especially those from contexts of socio-economic disadvantage, not experiencing a satisfying and worthwhile education, is a personal, social and economic loss the nation can ill-afford. This research will provide insights into the impediments confronting these young people, the circumstances in which they re-engage with formal learning, and the benefits of having done so. This will enable new policy ....Re-engaging disadvantaged young people with learning. Having significant numbers of young people, especially those from contexts of socio-economic disadvantage, not experiencing a satisfying and worthwhile education, is a personal, social and economic loss the nation can ill-afford. This research will provide insights into the impediments confronting these young people, the circumstances in which they re-engage with formal learning, and the benefits of having done so. This will enable new policy and practice responses in the direction of reducing economic costs while seeking to ameliorate personal, health and social consequences. Reducing educational inequalities is one of the most salient ways of strengthening Australia's social and economic fabric.Read moreRead less
Interagency collaborations supporting resilient students, families, schools in disadvantaged communities. The ability to display resilience in the face of challenging circumstances-poverty, poor health, geographical isolation, alienation, family breakdown is internationally recognised as a capacity enabling those 'at risk' to achieve educational and life successes. Developing resilience requires input from multiple agencies but little is known about the most effective ways for schools, health/co ....Interagency collaborations supporting resilient students, families, schools in disadvantaged communities. The ability to display resilience in the face of challenging circumstances-poverty, poor health, geographical isolation, alienation, family breakdown is internationally recognised as a capacity enabling those 'at risk' to achieve educational and life successes. Developing resilience requires input from multiple agencies but little is known about the most effective ways for schools, health/community/sport/leisure organizations and employers to collaborate on this objective. This project will identify resilient students and communities and highlight the specific intervention types (educational, health, employment, leisure) with proven ability to foster resilience and improve the educational and life chances of Australian youthRead moreRead less
Developing Effective School-Community Learning Partnerships for Sustainability. The research contributes to 2 areas of national concern:achieving environmental sustainability and strengthening social cohesion, especially in the expanding urban growth corridors of Australian cities. It will develop guidelines for facilitating models of community learning partnerships that build social capital as a vehicle for protecting natural capital. Knowledge generated will advance conservation practices for ....Developing Effective School-Community Learning Partnerships for Sustainability. The research contributes to 2 areas of national concern:achieving environmental sustainability and strengthening social cohesion, especially in the expanding urban growth corridors of Australian cities. It will develop guidelines for facilitating models of community learning partnerships that build social capital as a vehicle for protecting natural capital. Knowledge generated will advance conservation practices for natural capital:water, energy, biodiversity and waste, and strengthen the school-community partnership elements of programs such as ResourceSmart and the Australian Sustainable Schools Initiative (AuSSI), supported extensively by networks of local, State and Commonwealth governments, schools and community groups.Read moreRead less
Social Futures, Orientations and Identities of Young People in Queensland. Much has been written about the unprecedented change in society and how it impacts on the identities of young people. It has been argued that life pathways of young people are much more diverse, flexible and unpredictable than they were in the past and that they are developing new strategies of coping with these new conditions. This research will follow a large cohort of young Australians through adolescence to empiricall ....Social Futures, Orientations and Identities of Young People in Queensland. Much has been written about the unprecedented change in society and how it impacts on the identities of young people. It has been argued that life pathways of young people are much more diverse, flexible and unpredictable than they were in the past and that they are developing new strategies of coping with these new conditions. This research will follow a large cohort of young Australians through adolescence to empirically investigate how young people think of their future and how they master their life trajectories in a world of rapid change and uncertainty. Read moreRead less
Knowledge/economy/society: a sociological study of an education policy discourse in Australia in globalising circumstances. Education policies that fuse knowledge, economy and society are globally influential. Such policies seek to promote economic and social enhancement. Yet critics claim that these policies have a narrow view of knowledge, society and the economy, and of current trends. This study adopts inventive methodologies to assess such critics' claims in the light of research by leading ....Knowledge/economy/society: a sociological study of an education policy discourse in Australia in globalising circumstances. Education policies that fuse knowledge, economy and society are globally influential. Such policies seek to promote economic and social enhancement. Yet critics claim that these policies have a narrow view of knowledge, society and the economy, and of current trends. This study adopts inventive methodologies to assess such critics' claims in the light of research by leading sociologists. It explores the ways that the knowledge/economy/society discourse is interpreted in national and supranational policy texts, by senior policy agents and in innovative educational programs in different educational settings. The research findings will enrich education policy research and benefit national education policy.Read moreRead less
Understanding and managing 'risk' for 15-19 year olds in a learning network: a case study of the Geelong LLEN. Learning networks are new strategies of educational reform and community capacity building addressing risk and interdependence arising from globalisation. This Deakin/Smart Geelong Region Local Learning and Employment Network partnership investigates the effectiveness of learning networks dealing with 15-19 year olds at risk. It explores stakeholders' understandings of learning networks ....Understanding and managing 'risk' for 15-19 year olds in a learning network: a case study of the Geelong LLEN. Learning networks are new strategies of educational reform and community capacity building addressing risk and interdependence arising from globalisation. This Deakin/Smart Geelong Region Local Learning and Employment Network partnership investigates the effectiveness of learning networks dealing with 15-19 year olds at risk. It explores stakeholders' understandings of learning networks and risk, undertakes a case study of the SGRLLEN, and considers the responses of schools and young people to the SGRLLEN using innovative youth researcher methodologies. It will inform policies, practices and evaluation of Victorian LLENs, provide professional development within SGRLLEN, and theoretically and empirically advance an emerging under researched field.Read moreRead less
Teacher identity and the challenge of the socially critical curriculum: The case of Health & Physical Education. The focus of this research project is upon how the teacher identity might influence the possibilities for curriculum reform in Health and Physical Education. In particular we are interested in the interplay between the embodied identity of HPE teachers and the socially critical agenda of the new HPE curriculum. The project aims to gain an understanding of how prospective and practisin ....Teacher identity and the challenge of the socially critical curriculum: The case of Health & Physical Education. The focus of this research project is upon how the teacher identity might influence the possibilities for curriculum reform in Health and Physical Education. In particular we are interested in the interplay between the embodied identity of HPE teachers and the socially critical agenda of the new HPE curriculum. The project aims to gain an understanding of how prospective and practising HPE teachers construct their teacher identities, and of the extent of their commitment to the emancipatory and life politics (Giddens, 1991) discourses that underpin the new HPE curriculum. Findings will be of direct significance for policy-makers and curriculum reformers in the field of Health and Physical Education.Read moreRead less