Discovering a ‘good read’: Pathways to reading for Australian teens. This project aims to support the school, library, and book industries to increase teenagers’ recreational reading. Matching the right book to the right reader is essential to increase young people’s motivation to read. Yet how cultural intermediaries should operate to best effect within the complex ecologies that shape young people’s text selection is unclear. The project expects to generate robust evidence on how teens discove ....Discovering a ‘good read’: Pathways to reading for Australian teens. This project aims to support the school, library, and book industries to increase teenagers’ recreational reading. Matching the right book to the right reader is essential to increase young people’s motivation to read. Yet how cultural intermediaries should operate to best effect within the complex ecologies that shape young people’s text selection is unclear. The project expects to generate robust evidence on how teens discover books and the cultural factors that influence their choices. Expected outcomes include strategies that libraries, schools, and the book industry can use to promote Australian content for young adults, and equip young people to participate more fully in the social and economic benefits of pleasure reading.Read moreRead less
Babera dariadya yewing (Echoes of a flawed truth): investigating theory and practice on the interplay between bullying and racism. The negative impact of bullying and racism is being increasingly documented for Aboriginal youth, yet little attempt has been made to understand the differential impact of these stressors on the wellbeing and identity of Aboriginal Australian youth. This project will seek to address this issue, to guide future action-based research.
Deficit Discourse and Indigenous Education. This project investigates the prevalence of ‘deficit discourse’ and its influence on Indigenous education. Deficit discourse frames Indigenous identity in a narrative of negativity and deficiency. Recent work indicates that deficit discourse is active in policy, public debate, pedagogy and practice, and its prevalence in Indigenous education influences student performance. By mapping the discursive environment and analysing education programs that reje ....Deficit Discourse and Indigenous Education. This project investigates the prevalence of ‘deficit discourse’ and its influence on Indigenous education. Deficit discourse frames Indigenous identity in a narrative of negativity and deficiency. Recent work indicates that deficit discourse is active in policy, public debate, pedagogy and practice, and its prevalence in Indigenous education influences student performance. By mapping the discursive environment and analysing education programs that reject the deficit model, this project assesses whether its removal improves outcomes for Indigenous students. This project provides an original approach to challenge entrenched perceptions, resulting in tangible benefits for the Australian education system and the communities that it serves.Read moreRead less
Innovative learning environments and teacher change. This project aims to bridge a gap between the educational potential of innovative learning environment designs, and their actual performance. Currently, multi-modal technology-enabled spaces are not producing demonstrable benefits for students. Many teachers resist altering their mindset about how students learn effectively in these spaces and thus how teachers should teach differently. The project aims to work with schools, government and ind ....Innovative learning environments and teacher change. This project aims to bridge a gap between the educational potential of innovative learning environment designs, and their actual performance. Currently, multi-modal technology-enabled spaces are not producing demonstrable benefits for students. Many teachers resist altering their mindset about how students learn effectively in these spaces and thus how teachers should teach differently. The project aims to work with schools, government and industry to analyse the relationships between quality teaching and effective use of innovative learning environments. The new understanding gained through the project is expected to guide developments in pedagogy, policy and design and to produce strategies to improve learning in schools across Australia and New Zealand.Read moreRead less
Young Australians' perspectives on religions and non-religious worldviews. This project aims to elicit diverse young people’s understandings about religion and belief to inform debate about how education assists or impedes intercultural understanding as well as enhancing wellbeing and social inclusion. Australian governments have invested in programs to promote respect for religious diversity and to counter violent extremism, yet there is no coherent, evidence-based understanding of young Austra ....Young Australians' perspectives on religions and non-religious worldviews. This project aims to elicit diverse young people’s understandings about religion and belief to inform debate about how education assists or impedes intercultural understanding as well as enhancing wellbeing and social inclusion. Australian governments have invested in programs to promote respect for religious diversity and to counter violent extremism, yet there is no coherent, evidence-based understanding of young Australians’ perspectives on religions and nonreligious worldviews. Knowing more about young people's perspectives and what influences them could facilitate development of appropriate educational responses equipping schools to help young Australians to live productively in their diverse society.Read moreRead less