Influences on students' learning goals and their capacity for self-regulation. There is an obvious connection between maximizing learning of young people and the nation's future. Currently many young people are missing opportunities for learning at school, and this not only reduces their own opportunities, thereby increasing their risk of long term dependence on government services, but also reduces overall social capital. The project will evaluate teaching strategies that have potential to enha ....Influences on students' learning goals and their capacity for self-regulation. There is an obvious connection between maximizing learning of young people and the nation's future. Currently many young people are missing opportunities for learning at school, and this not only reduces their own opportunities, thereby increasing their risk of long term dependence on government services, but also reduces overall social capital. The project will evaluate teaching strategies that have potential to enhance the participation of students in learning in the middle years.
The project will be of direct benefit to regional and rural communities since it is conducted in regional and rural schools with their particular challenges, including community pessimism, reduced vocational aspirations, and limited role models.
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Challenging Pedagogies: Engaging ESL students in intellectual quality. This project will investigate the potential and meaning of intellectual challenge in the enacted curriculum of middle year classes with signficant numbers of English as a second language (ESL) students. It will build on outcomes of our previous research on scaffolding and on productive pedagogies to articulate the nature of linguistic and conceptual support necessary for ESL students to engage successfully with high challeng ....Challenging Pedagogies: Engaging ESL students in intellectual quality. This project will investigate the potential and meaning of intellectual challenge in the enacted curriculum of middle year classes with signficant numbers of English as a second language (ESL) students. It will build on outcomes of our previous research on scaffolding and on productive pedagogies to articulate the nature of linguistic and conceptual support necessary for ESL students to engage successfully with high challenge tasks. In doing so, it will address the priority area of quality teaching in public schools from a classroom prespective and from the perspective of ESL students. The project has implications for teacher education and professional development.Read moreRead less
Western Australian rural and remote schooling: The influence of learning environments on student participation and retention. By 2010 all Australian States and Territories will have raised the school leaving age from 15 to 17 years of age. As one of the first States to have undertaken this essential step toward re-engaging disaffected youth in education, training and/or employment options, it is important that a rigorous examination of the Western Australian experience is conducted. The proposed ....Western Australian rural and remote schooling: The influence of learning environments on student participation and retention. By 2010 all Australian States and Territories will have raised the school leaving age from 15 to 17 years of age. As one of the first States to have undertaken this essential step toward re-engaging disaffected youth in education, training and/or employment options, it is important that a rigorous examination of the Western Australian experience is conducted. The proposed research focuses on what is likely to be the most problematic area of the initiative for school communities - how and why the programs offered to students in rural and remote school and classroom learning environments impact upon student engagement and retention.Read moreRead less
Towards a transformative model: re-shaping transitions between school and post-school life. This project aims to transform senior schooling to support students with limited levels of educational achievement secure productive transitions to lives beyond school. Starting with understanding what productive transitions means for past-students, the project engages with current students, teachers, school leaders, community organisations and employers to develop, trial and evaluate effective senior sch ....Towards a transformative model: re-shaping transitions between school and post-school life. This project aims to transform senior schooling to support students with limited levels of educational achievement secure productive transitions to lives beyond school. Starting with understanding what productive transitions means for past-students, the project engages with current students, teachers, school leaders, community organisations and employers to develop, trial and evaluate effective senior school experiences for those young adults. The researchers will work collaboratively with four school communities and local employers. Through engagements with students, workplaces and community settings outside of schools, the project will identify, promote and support achieving productive post-school transitions for these students.Read moreRead less
Developing nurses' work as a learning practice. Innovative models of clinical experience are required to enhance the professional learning, ongoing development and retention of nursing students and experienced nurses who support their development. This project directly addresses this need through developing and appraising a model of practice-based learning and participation that reciprocally develops both novice and experienced nurses' capacities and identities. The project can potentially infor ....Developing nurses' work as a learning practice. Innovative models of clinical experience are required to enhance the professional learning, ongoing development and retention of nursing students and experienced nurses who support their development. This project directly addresses this need through developing and appraising a model of practice-based learning and participation that reciprocally develops both novice and experienced nurses' capacities and identities. The project can potentially inform the practices within both tertiary and healthcare organizations about an innovative approach to address issues impacting on the national workforce of nursing and provide a significant contribution to enhancing the knowledge and understanding of the nursing practices within healthcare. Read moreRead less
Enhancing Wellbeing and Learning in Middle Years Classrooms. Meaningful engagement in schooling promotes academic learning, social emotional wellbeing and healthy futures for young people. Achieving the positive engagement of all adolescent students in schooling is a significant educational challenge for Australia. This research project recognises that strong, caring and positive teacher-student relationships are critical to student engagement in Middle Years classrooms. The project will inve ....Enhancing Wellbeing and Learning in Middle Years Classrooms. Meaningful engagement in schooling promotes academic learning, social emotional wellbeing and healthy futures for young people. Achieving the positive engagement of all adolescent students in schooling is a significant educational challenge for Australia. This research project recognises that strong, caring and positive teacher-student relationships are critical to student engagement in Middle Years classrooms. The project will investigate the application of an evidence based framework of strategies and a professional learning model to support teachers in the promotion of positive learning relationships. The project will trial measures that could increase teacher capacity to promote learning and wellbeing through positive relationships.Read moreRead less
Engaging economically disadvantaged adolescent girls in physical activity and healthy eating to improve health and prevent obesity. Secondary school represents the final opportunity to influence individuals as they develop adult lifestyle behaviours and enter a transitional period in their lives. Considering the increased prevalence of lifestyle diseases among Australian adults and increases in the prevalence of obesity among young Australians, targeting health-promoting behaviours in adolescent ....Engaging economically disadvantaged adolescent girls in physical activity and healthy eating to improve health and prevent obesity. Secondary school represents the final opportunity to influence individuals as they develop adult lifestyle behaviours and enter a transitional period in their lives. Considering the increased prevalence of lifestyle diseases among Australian adults and increases in the prevalence of obesity among young Australians, targeting health-promoting behaviours in adolescents is clearly a national priority. Furthermore, rates of obesity are much higher in economically disadvantaged areas, with girls more susceptible to the SES disadvantages. This project has the potential to develop a knowledge base and improve the health behaviours of current and future Australians most at risk for the development of lifestyle diseases.Read moreRead less
Improving middle years mathematics and science: The role of subject cultures in school and teacher change. Student disengagement with mathematics and science in the middle years of schooling, and the low retention rates into these areas in upper years, is of national concern. This project investigates the role of mathematics and science knowledge, and school subject cultures, in mediating change processes in the middle years. It builds on a highly successful change model developed for science te ....Improving middle years mathematics and science: The role of subject cultures in school and teacher change. Student disengagement with mathematics and science in the middle years of schooling, and the low retention rates into these areas in upper years, is of national concern. This project investigates the role of mathematics and science knowledge, and school subject cultures, in mediating change processes in the middle years. It builds on a highly successful change model developed for science teaching and learning in Victoria to investigate how generic conceptions of teacher pedagogy
and school change intersect with subject matter knowledge and traditions in the closely related areas of mathematics and science. The findings will inform future school change projects.Read moreRead less
Growing up in networked spaces: Tech-savvy youth constructing identities and forming social relations in online and offline worlds. This study's focus on online and offline worlds raises significant issues that relate directly to youth's participation in Australia's global knowledge-based economy, particularly youth's engagement with online technologies, and their experiences as consumers and producers of cultural materials and practices. The project's concern with significant aspects of youth g ....Growing up in networked spaces: Tech-savvy youth constructing identities and forming social relations in online and offline worlds. This study's focus on online and offline worlds raises significant issues that relate directly to youth's participation in Australia's global knowledge-based economy, particularly youth's engagement with online technologies, and their experiences as consumers and producers of cultural materials and practices. The project's concern with significant aspects of youth growing up in a world characterised by change is highly relevant for its impact on their social wellbeing and identity formation. Schools, tertiary institutions and national youth agencies will benefit from the results of this study in terms of how they understand youth's changing identities in these new times and new spaces.Read moreRead less
Young people, physical activity and physical culture: a longitudinal study. The relationship between physical activity and the health of young people is currently a matter of national and international concern. This project will investigate the place and meaning of health, physical activity and physical culture in young people's lives from a longitudinal and qualitative perspective. It will build on the findings of a three year study of young people's engagement with physical activity. Specifica ....Young people, physical activity and physical culture: a longitudinal study. The relationship between physical activity and the health of young people is currently a matter of national and international concern. This project will investigate the place and meaning of health, physical activity and physical culture in young people's lives from a longitudinal and qualitative perspective. It will build on the findings of a three year study of young people's engagement with physical activity. Specifically it will follow cohorts of students from different social, cultural and geographical locations as they move beyond school and make choices associated with health and physical activity in relation to the changing conditions of their lives.Read moreRead less