School-based Learning for Individual Diversity in Education: The SLIDE Project
Whole-School Professional Development (PD) days held regularly in schools are designed to promote and up-skill school staff on relevant areas of educational policy and practice. An aim of PD days is to empower participants with new knowledges and skills, and to confirm that current practices and interpretations of education policy and procedure are correct. In determining the nature of the professional development content, school executives make decisions based on their perceived needs of the staffing group, available speakers, current departmental policy and practice requirements. Deciding the topics for the professional development day for school staff has tended to adopt a 'one size fits all' general approach that is rationalised as being broad in nature and of benefit to all. In adopting such an approach to a diverse teaching cohort, one may question just how valuable and meaningful this training day is in meeting the individual needs of all participating teachers. This paper reports on the benefits a more individualised approach to a whole-school PD training day had for one government primary school in Australia. Foundational to the detailed design of the PD days, the 'School-based Learning for Individual Diversity in Education' (SLIDE) project proceeded by identifying the individual needs of each staff member in the school community through an interview prior to the delivery of the two-day training. Embedded in an action research model, the SLIDE project reported evidence of improved teacher self-confidence, improved communication between all levels, and a boost to the level of whole-school staff cohesion and morale.
Success Stories from an Indigenous Immersion Primary Teaching Experience in New South Wales Schools
A federal report released by the Department of Families and Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA, 2009), entitled 'Closing the Gap on Indigenous Disadvantage: The Challenge for Australia', highlighted the inequality that exists between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students based on a restricted access to resources, issues of isolation, staff and student retention, and cultural differences and challenges. In New South Wales (NSW), the Department of Education and Training (DET) and the Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (AECG) in 2003/2004 undertook their own review of Aboriginal education in NSW Government schools that revealed significant concerns about the outcomes being achieved by Aboriginal students in NSW DET schools, confirming the more recent FaHCSIA (2009) findings. In 2006 the NSW DET implemented the Enhanced Teacher Training Scholarship Program (ETTSP) to empower 20 final-year education students to successfully engage with Indigenous students in schools and their wider community during their internship period. Using themes, this article explores the experiences of 10 University of New England scholarship holders at the end of their final year of teacher training and immersion/internship experience in 2010. The article puts forward useful recommendations for both teacher universities and students intending to teach in schools with high Indigenous student populations.
Successful inclusion of children with Asperger Syndrome in primary school: Parental voices
The quality of the overall primary school experience for students diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome (AS) and other learning disabilities may be typically challenging and stressful on a number of fronts, particularly the successful negotiation of the social curriculum. The term 'inclusion' is defined as a process taking into consideration features such as welcoming diversity, promotion of teacher consistency and collaboration, and the provision of learning opportunities and experiences to match the needs of the child. This paper provides parents of children diagnosed with AS a voice to speak about their own experiences and perspectives of how inclusive the primary school system was in meeting their child's needs. Based on parental experiences working with their child and primary School staff, a number of strategies and recommendations are put forward to empower new parents of children diagnosed with AS and teachers on how to improve the quality of the child's primary school experiences. Through the use of a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews, 12 parents participated in the 'Looking back to work forward' research and their data analysed initially using the Leximancer Version 2.25 (2001) qualitative software. A thematic analysis was undertaken using Bruner's (1990) concept of generative themes that revealed key topics shared by the participants, including bullying, the importance of community and social supports, and parental involvement with schools. The paper puts forward strategies and recommendations to teachers, education staff and parents on how to improve the process of inclusion for students with AS, and for those students who exhibit similar difficulties at school.
Strategies for the Successful Inclusion of Students with Asperger Syndrome in Primary School
Today's classrooms contain exciting cultural, academic and behavioural dimensions that teachers need to fully understand and embrace in order to manage the successful learning of every student. In mainstream classrooms, students presenting with learning disabilities and learning difficulties require the teacher to carefully think through effective learning strategies to promote inclusive classroom practices. This article summarises a seminar delivered at the University of Hong Kong on the 8th February where a number of strategies to successfully include students with Asperger Syndrome (AS) in Primary School were discussed.
‘Relationship-Rich Education’: Promoting Student Belonging for Success
A sense of belonging and personal connection can be argued as essential for both staff and students alike regardless of the learning context. In this pandemic era, 'Relationship-rich education' philosophies for universities are considered more vital than ever due to increased online learning (Felten & Lambert et al., 2020). To-date, higher education students' sense of belonging is a concept that has not been adequately conceptualised. The current literature on 'sense of belonging' spans a number of disciplines, with no apparent consensus on definition between these, complicated by the fact that sense of belonging is temporal and context-sensitive such as during COVID-19. Whilst there has been recent studies outlining the student experience of belonging in the online space (Peacock et al., 2020), investigation of teacher/educator experiences have been relatively overlooked. This presentation will present interim findings from the SoE CSSP that explored students' sense of belonging to their education units.
Message from the Editor-in-Chief 11(5)
We continue to be confronted by ongoing global challenges that require educators and students to conform to learning that requires greater patience, application, flexibility, and a willingness to learn differently. It would appear that no corner of the globe is exempt from the implications to their daily life of the actions and relationships between countries. Years on, the full ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic are still evident in the practices and policies of tertiary educators, as evidenced by the many articles that continue to discuss their experiences. What has remained a constant for higher education educators is their duty to ensure that they provide opportunities for their students to develop and experience a sense of belonging, community, and 'place' in the virtual classroom. Another challenge is ensuring that the design of educational offerings taps into and nurtures the development of student learning styles and approaches to learning, that can lead to a successful, meaningful, productive and enjoyable student learning experience.
Escuelas Tamiles en los Estados Federados Malayos Bajo el Dominio Colonial Británico 1895-1941
En la época del dominio británico de los Estados Malayos Federados (EMF), de 1895 a 1941, muchos indios, especialmente los tamiles del sur de la India fueron traídos como mano de obra. Se crearon escuelas primarias tamiles de larga duración para atender las necesidades educativas de sus hijos e hijas. Este artículo presenta una investigación histórica del desarrollo, los retos y la disparidad a la que se enfrentaron las escuelas primarias tamiles en los EMF entre 1895-1941. El estudio emplea el análisis de contenido temático para estudiar las fuentes históricas primarias y secundarias. Las conclusiones indican que surgieron cuatro temas en torno a los retos y la disparidad entre las escuelas tamiles de los EMF a saber, el edificio y el equipamiento, las asignaturas y los planes de estudio, los maestros/as y la formación del profesorado. El estudio destaca el desarrollo de las escuelas tamiles en los EMF, los importantes problemas a los que se enfrentaron las escuelas bajo el dominio colonial británico y las implicaciones para los hijos e hijas de las personas emigrantes tamiles. Este estudio aporto nuevos conocimientos a la historia de la educación durante el colonialismo británico, haciendo hincapié en el papel crucial de las escuelas tamiles en la preservación de la lengua y la cultura, y contribuyendo a futuras investigaciones en este ámbito.
Message from the Editor-in-Chief 11(3)
As higher education institutions continue to negotiate effective ways forward embracing on-line learning pedagogies due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we now read many of the findings from on-going research into the effectiveness and impact these changes have made to student learning. Higher education institutions are at the very nexus of career-focussed education, for students seeking qualifications to contribute positively to their community. Recognising the strength of academia and the challenges that plague access to a range of reliable resources, ensure that policy-makers and educators alike, continue to review best practices in order to provide the innovative delivery of pedagogical excellence. We are proud to present this issue with contributions and perspectives from the USA, Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, Oman, South Africa, Spain, Kuwait, Uganda and Israel. This issue has a strong focus on learner pedagogy, gender performance, student teacher experiences, and post-COVID adaptations. Research in these areas provide interesting and informative reading, on how global educators continue with their core business of delivering relevant and meaningful education to their students.
Celebrating innovative teaching at UNE: The Commencing Student Success Project
The Commencing Student Success Project (CSSP) is an innovative research and development project that started in the School of Education (SoE) mid-2019. The team, led by Associate Professor Ingrid Harrington, have been working closely with SoE Education developers and Unit Coordinators (UC) to disseminate 14 evidence-based core pedagogical strategies and innovations known as the 'Basic Elements' (BE), consistently within and across all first year units.
Schools and Parents Working together Supporting Students Diagnosed on the Autistic Spectrum: Learning from Each Other
The concept of 'inclusion' within the mainstream education system is defined as a process taking into consideration features such as welcoming diversity, promotion of teacher consistency and collaboration, and the provision of learning opportunities and experiences to match the needs of the child. Students diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome (AS) and other learning disabilities often find successful negotiating all aspects of the primary school classroom typically challenging and stressful on a number of fronts, particularly the social curriculum. This paper provides parents of children diagnosed with AS a voice to speak about their own experiences and perspectives of how inclusive the New South Wales' (NSW) Australian primary school system was in meeting their child's needs. Based on parental experiences working with their child and primary school staff, the paper puts forward strategies and recommendations to teachers, education staff and parents on how to improve the process of inclusion for students with AS, and for those students who exhibit similar difficulties at school. Through the use of a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews, 12 parents participated in the "Looking Back to Work Forward" research and their data analysed initially using the Leximancer Version 2.25 (2001) qualitative software. A thematic analysis was undertaken using Bruner's (1990) concept of generative themes that revealed key topics shared by the participants, including bullying, the importance of community and social supports, and parental involvement with schools.