Social capital and the academic success of indigenous students. This project aims to generate new knowledge about high-achieving Indigenous students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. This longitudinal study will provide evidence on success factors that are most effective in improving academic achievement and experience of Indigenous students, and inform government and Aboriginal communities in developing evidence-based policy and practice. The project is expected to provide a unique opportunit ....Social capital and the academic success of indigenous students. This project aims to generate new knowledge about high-achieving Indigenous students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. This longitudinal study will provide evidence on success factors that are most effective in improving academic achievement and experience of Indigenous students, and inform government and Aboriginal communities in developing evidence-based policy and practice. The project is expected to provide a unique opportunity to unveil how Indigenous students’ network characteristics formed in family, school, and community interplay with their psychological constructs in shaping their academic success longitudinally. The project will also represent a significant advancement in the global research field of Indigenous education.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE200100953
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$413,013.00
Summary
Engaging Rural Knowledges in Education for Sustainable Community Futures. This project aims to enhance understanding of the existing and unique knowledges in rural, regional and remote communities and how these can be used to enhance achievement in contemporary, metropolitan-focused, education. The project will generate new understandings about rural knowledge, related influences upon student curriculum access and achievement, and how rural, regional and remote communities understand educational ....Engaging Rural Knowledges in Education for Sustainable Community Futures. This project aims to enhance understanding of the existing and unique knowledges in rural, regional and remote communities and how these can be used to enhance achievement in contemporary, metropolitan-focused, education. The project will generate new understandings about rural knowledge, related influences upon student curriculum access and achievement, and how rural, regional and remote communities understand educational success. Through detailed analysis of data from systems, community focus groups, and school case-studies in six rural, regional and remote communities this project expects to advance knowledge to help make education better meet the needs of rural, regional and remote communities. Read moreRead less
Culturally inclusive language assessments for Indigenous Aboriginal students. This project aims to improve the literacy outcomes for Aboriginal students. It focuses on the assessment of oral language, the foundation for written literacy skills, and the mode of communication most common for this student cohort. The project will collect school-based oral language data from rural and remote educational sites and use it to develop supplementary assessment tools for multilingual education. The assess ....Culturally inclusive language assessments for Indigenous Aboriginal students. This project aims to improve the literacy outcomes for Aboriginal students. It focuses on the assessment of oral language, the foundation for written literacy skills, and the mode of communication most common for this student cohort. The project will collect school-based oral language data from rural and remote educational sites and use it to develop supplementary assessment tools for multilingual education. The assessment tools will be validated in workshops with teachers and expanded with descriptors for assessing Aboriginal students’ communicative competence. The project aims to improve educational outcomes for rural and remote Aboriginal students.Read moreRead less
Adolescent Gambling: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Opportunities for Controls and Interventions. This research will contribute to both scientific knowledge and public policy in an area of considerable public concern. It will measure the prevalence of gambling among adolescents in the ACT, and identify the proportion of youth with actual or potential gambling problems. It will assess their degree of exposure to gambling advertising and their awareness of services for young problem gamblers. The p ....Adolescent Gambling: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Opportunities for Controls and Interventions. This research will contribute to both scientific knowledge and public policy in an area of considerable public concern. It will measure the prevalence of gambling among adolescents in the ACT, and identify the proportion of youth with actual or potential gambling problems. It will assess their degree of exposure to gambling advertising and their awareness of services for young problem gamblers. The project will also identify risk factors for problem gambling, and protective factors and policy opportunities for the reduction of problem gambling. It will also contribute to methodological knowledge by assessing the validity of multiple measures of problem gambling.Read moreRead less
Active citizenship of young people through electoral enrolment. Some 300,000 eighteen to twenty-four year old Australians are not enrolled to vote in federal elections, despite compulsory voting. Consequently they do not exercise their rights, and their responsibilities, as citizens in this way. The Australian Ele ctoral C ommission and the researchers will determine why these young Australians are not enrolled and do not vote. We will identify the characteristics of non-participants particularl ....Active citizenship of young people through electoral enrolment. Some 300,000 eighteen to twenty-four year old Australians are not enrolled to vote in federal elections, despite compulsory voting. Consequently they do not exercise their rights, and their responsibilities, as citizens in this way. The Australian Ele ctoral C ommission and the researchers will determine why these young Australians are not enrolled and do not vote. We will identify the characteristics of non-participants particularly those from rural and regional areas. Outcomes include identification of non-enrolled youth and appropriate interventions to engage young Australians to become active, democratic citizens....Read moreRead less
Belonging and sexual citizenship among gender and sexual minority youth. In the context of well-documented threats to the mental health and well-being of minority young people, this project will examine the experiences of two different generations of gender and sexual minority youth growing up in Australia, and the sources of support they have found most useful. Innovative contextual analysis will involve documentary and archival research alongside individual and group interviews. Through a focu ....Belonging and sexual citizenship among gender and sexual minority youth. In the context of well-documented threats to the mental health and well-being of minority young people, this project will examine the experiences of two different generations of gender and sexual minority youth growing up in Australia, and the sources of support they have found most useful. Innovative contextual analysis will involve documentary and archival research alongside individual and group interviews. Through a focus on the promotion of well-being and participatory citizenship in a rapidly changing social world, the findings aim to contribute new theory concerning transitions from youth to adulthood, improved methodology for the study of marginal and sometimes hard-to-reach populations, and better quality policy and practice.Read moreRead less
International collaboration in teaching and learning of Einsteinian physics. Following a previous project that showed that it is possible and beneficial to teach the modern Einsteinian paradigm of space, time, matter, light and gravity to students as young as 8 years old, this project aims to test and evaluate a seamless progression of learning modern physics through primary and secondary school. It will sequence, integrate and test research-informed teaching and learning materials, and assessme ....International collaboration in teaching and learning of Einsteinian physics. Following a previous project that showed that it is possible and beneficial to teach the modern Einsteinian paradigm of space, time, matter, light and gravity to students as young as 8 years old, this project aims to test and evaluate a seamless progression of learning modern physics through primary and secondary school. It will sequence, integrate and test research-informed teaching and learning materials, and assessment instruments developed through a 7-nation collaboration. Research across 24 schools will be reviewed by a panel drawn from professional organisations and curriculum authorities, and learning resources will be widely disseminated, with view to worldwide introduction of Einsteinian science at school.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210101881
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$407,390.00
Summary
Building STEM capacity through literacy engagement in spatial reasoning. This project aims to improve boys and girls' spatial reasoning in preschool (when gender differences emerge) by utilizing an activity that both genders equally access: book reading. Spatial reasoning is critical to achievement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). This project will address disproportionate outcomes in spatial reasoning and STEM achievement, particularly among females, by identifying ef ....Building STEM capacity through literacy engagement in spatial reasoning. This project aims to improve boys and girls' spatial reasoning in preschool (when gender differences emerge) by utilizing an activity that both genders equally access: book reading. Spatial reasoning is critical to achievement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). This project will address disproportionate outcomes in spatial reasoning and STEM achievement, particularly among females, by identifying effective kinds of spatial learning opportunities for the preschool context. Expected outcomes include an innovative approach to improving spatial reasoning through literacy engagement. This provides significant benefits by creating pathways into STEM and informing targeted interventions.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
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