Parent involvement goes online: New ecologies of school-home relations. This project aims to: identify forms of digital exclusion and inclusion impacting on parents’ ability to support their children’s education; produce a new conceptual model of technologically mediated school-home relationships; and provide a comprehensive map of school-home connected digital tools and services. Combining a detailed survey of 500 school leaders with innovative networked case studies across three schools and 18 ....Parent involvement goes online: New ecologies of school-home relations. This project aims to: identify forms of digital exclusion and inclusion impacting on parents’ ability to support their children’s education; produce a new conceptual model of technologically mediated school-home relationships; and provide a comprehensive map of school-home connected digital tools and services. Combining a detailed survey of 500 school leaders with innovative networked case studies across three schools and 18 families, this will be the first national study to comprehensively describe and analyse home-school partnerships in the digital age. It will provide policy and educational leadership with a roadmap for addressing barriers to digital inclusion, as schools advance their integration of digital platforms. Read moreRead less
Globalisation: New Media, New Literacies and Identities. This APF proposes three related projects that investigate (i) the social effects of new information technologies on literacy and identity, (ii) the impact of globalisation on education, and (iii) new forms of social identity among multiracial families and children. Each project will produce a book and refereed journal articles. This work is significant because it will generate new knowledge about the effects of globalization on: (i) shifts ....Globalisation: New Media, New Literacies and Identities. This APF proposes three related projects that investigate (i) the social effects of new information technologies on literacy and identity, (ii) the impact of globalisation on education, and (iii) new forms of social identity among multiracial families and children. Each project will produce a book and refereed journal articles. This work is significant because it will generate new knowledge about the effects of globalization on: (i) shifts from print to digital literacies and identities among Australian youth, (ii) the role, responsibility, and futures orientation of education systems, and (iii) changing family structures and identities in new socio-demographic contexts.Read moreRead less
'Digital Natives': Growing up with new and old media in Australia. Developing a sophisticated digital literacy is important for both the future of children, the cultural, social and economic well-being of the nation. Digital literacy requires not only communications infrastructure but targeted investment in human skills. Investing in the development of a digitally literate Australian population has become an explicit means for promoting the future economic and social well-being of the nation. Th ....'Digital Natives': Growing up with new and old media in Australia. Developing a sophisticated digital literacy is important for both the future of children, the cultural, social and economic well-being of the nation. Digital literacy requires not only communications infrastructure but targeted investment in human skills. Investing in the development of a digitally literate Australian population has become an explicit means for promoting the future economic and social well-being of the nation. The information provided by this project has the potential to contribute significantly to giving children 'a healthy start to life' in their early years. Read moreRead less
Schooling the nation in an age of globalization: National curriculum, accountabilities and their effects. The research will contribute to the development of Australia's human capital through the enhancement of knowledge concerning the policy settings necessary at national and state systemic levels for achieving higher quality and more equitable student outcomes. The research will advance understandings of how education federalism can best be utilized to achieve such outcomes. Analyses of NAPLAN ....Schooling the nation in an age of globalization: National curriculum, accountabilities and their effects. The research will contribute to the development of Australia's human capital through the enhancement of knowledge concerning the policy settings necessary at national and state systemic levels for achieving higher quality and more equitable student outcomes. The research will advance understandings of how education federalism can best be utilized to achieve such outcomes. Analyses of NAPLAN and PISA data will also provide policy and practice relevant knowledge for systems and for schools. The project will strengthen Australia's research capacity in education policy studies and its reputation in the academic field, and contribute to improved research-based policy making in education.
Read moreRead less
Towards a School-Community Based Approach to Addressing Student Absenteeism. This project aims to develop an integrated school-community approach to assist education systems to effectively address student absenteeism in marginalised communities. Excessive absenteeism is linked to low academic achievement and school dropout, which limits young people’s life opportunities and perpetuates social disadvantage. This project will use interdisciplinary methods to bring the experiences of schools and co ....Towards a School-Community Based Approach to Addressing Student Absenteeism. This project aims to develop an integrated school-community approach to assist education systems to effectively address student absenteeism in marginalised communities. Excessive absenteeism is linked to low academic achievement and school dropout, which limits young people’s life opportunities and perpetuates social disadvantage. This project will use interdisciplinary methods to bring the experiences of schools and communities, existing research evidence, and academics together to enable schools to work in new ways to improve attendance. Expected outcomes will be enhanced capacity of schools to address absenteeism with the benefit of assisting the government to alleviate the societal and economic costs of this enduring problem.Read moreRead less
Engaging students: Issues of difference, distribution and recognition in schools. The project will help to improve the quality of schooling provided to students currently marginalised within the education sector. It focuses on the achievement of diverse groups of students and on how schools and classrooms value and educationally 'work with' their differences. The engagement of marginalised students in the schooling process has been identified as a national priority by Federal and State Ministers ....Engaging students: Issues of difference, distribution and recognition in schools. The project will help to improve the quality of schooling provided to students currently marginalised within the education sector. It focuses on the achievement of diverse groups of students and on how schools and classrooms value and educationally 'work with' their differences. The engagement of marginalised students in the schooling process has been identified as a national priority by Federal and State Ministers of Education in the 2008 Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians. By addressing the engagement of students marginalised from mainstream schooling, the project will also address the promoting and maintaining good health.Read moreRead less
A critical analysis of the increase in diagnosis of special educational needs in New South Wales government schools. Enhancing the ability of schools to respond to students with diverse needs has been shown to reduce student disengagement and early leaving. This research will identify ways to achieve this important goal, while reducing incentives for schools to label and segregate students who experience difficulty in schools and with learning. This will have long term benefits not only for indi ....A critical analysis of the increase in diagnosis of special educational needs in New South Wales government schools. Enhancing the ability of schools to respond to students with diverse needs has been shown to reduce student disengagement and early leaving. This research will identify ways to achieve this important goal, while reducing incentives for schools to label and segregate students who experience difficulty in schools and with learning. This will have long term benefits not only for individual students, but for communities and for the nation as a whole. The project will contribute to the Commonwealth government's national agenda linking positive educational outcomes to successful employment, broader economic participation, and enhanced social inclusion.Read moreRead less
Career and practice choices for Australian medical students: How, what, where and why - Stage 2 of a longitudinal study. The well publicised doctor shortage in Australia makes understanding how and where future doctors want to work critical to planning tomorrow's medical workforce and addressing access problems for Australians in health areas of need. This large national cohort study will provide valuable insights into how future doctors wish to practise and how these choices and determining fac ....Career and practice choices for Australian medical students: How, what, where and why - Stage 2 of a longitudinal study. The well publicised doctor shortage in Australia makes understanding how and where future doctors want to work critical to planning tomorrow's medical workforce and addressing access problems for Australians in health areas of need. This large national cohort study will provide valuable insights into how future doctors wish to practise and how these choices and determining factors change over time. Findings from this study will assist those who educate and train our medical students and those who plan our future health workforce to better meet our community health needs, especially those currently with reduced access to medical care. Read moreRead less
Coordinating Innovation in Knowledge-Based Multinational Organisations. Integration into global supply chains is one of the fundamental challenges for manufacturing companies in Australia. This project seeks to identify the optimal design for coordinating innovation in globally-dispersed organisations. It will analyse three mechanisms for transferring knowledge within organisations: hierarchies, communities of practice, and social networks. Outcomes will include a new multilevel statistical netw ....Coordinating Innovation in Knowledge-Based Multinational Organisations. Integration into global supply chains is one of the fundamental challenges for manufacturing companies in Australia. This project seeks to identify the optimal design for coordinating innovation in globally-dispersed organisations. It will analyse three mechanisms for transferring knowledge within organisations: hierarchies, communities of practice, and social networks. Outcomes will include a new multilevel statistical network modelling framework and organisational designs to overcome barriers to knowledge-transfer, such as language, culture and distance. The project will collect and apply data from Boeing Global Technology, the international research arm of The Boeing Company, a world leading business with major subsidiaries in Australia.Read moreRead less
Agri-food Applications of Genetically-Modified Organisms: Public Perceptions, Risk and Sustainability. Agricultural and food biotechnologies are being disseminated throughout Australia - despite growing consumer concerns. Employing a sociological framework, this research will investigate ways genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) - and their associated risks - are perceived by consumers. This Australia-wide study is significant because of the nation's current endorsement of GMOs, the reluctance/ ....Agri-food Applications of Genetically-Modified Organisms: Public Perceptions, Risk and Sustainability. Agricultural and food biotechnologies are being disseminated throughout Australia - despite growing consumer concerns. Employing a sociological framework, this research will investigate ways genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) - and their associated risks - are perceived by consumers. This Australia-wide study is significant because of the nation's current endorsement of GMOs, the reluctance/inability of science to recognise lay concerns, and the likelihood that some biotechnologies will compromise environmental sustainability. Outcomes will include: conceptual advances in relation to risk and trust; an understanding of consumer acceptance/rejection of GMOs; and, recognition of the potential for agri-food biotechnologies to contribute to sustainability.Read moreRead less