Educational Research Conference - Flinders Universityehlt.flinders.edu.au/education/iej/articles/conferences/ERC2003.pdf · deLissa Institute of Early Childhood and Family Studies,

Thursday 27 th November 2003 School of Education Flinders University Adelaide, South Australia

Educational Research Conference

Designing the Future

2 Program Proudly supported by:

FLINDERS UNIVERSITY

INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL

EDUCATION

FLINDERS UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION

UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION,

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH

AUSTRALIA

Symposium with:

Professor Kevin Majoribanks University of Adelaide Dr Yoshi Nagata National Foundation for Educational Policy Re-search, Tokyo Dr Sivakumar Alagumalai EDICT Group, Flinders University Joy de Leo Asia Pacific Network for International Education and Values Education, Adelaide Professor Michael Lawson School of Education, Flinders University Associate Professor Phillip Slee School of Education, Flinders University

Education in the Asia Pacific Region – Problems and Solutions

The Jim Richardson Lecture

by: Professor Colin Brown

Department of Asian Studies, Flinders University Indonesia’s Future: A role for Australia?

Conference Committee

Wing Au Uni SA Katherine Dix IEJ Online Editor Helen Drew Flinders Uni Dorothy Hudson Uni Adelaide John Keeves Chair Bobbie Matthews FUIIE Roz Murray-Harvey FUIIE Paddy O’Toole FUIIE Carolyn Palmer Flinders Uni Gavin Sanderson Flinders Uni Nick Wallace Flinders Uni Mirella Wyra Flinders Uni

Educational Research Conference 2003 3

Educational Research Conference 2003

Thursday 27th November 2003

CONFERENCE PROGRAM

School of Education, Flinders University

Adelaide, South Australia

Conference web site at http://www.flinders.edu.au/education/conference

4 Program

Conference Program When: Thursday 27th November 2003

Where: School of Education Sturt Buildings, North Campus Flinders University, Bedford Park, South Australia

The Opening and Closing Sessions will be held in the Sturt Theatre The School of Education is entered from Car Park 14

PROGRAM Room9.00 am Welcome: Associate Professor Colin MacMullin 9.15 am Symposium

Title: Education in the Asia Pacific Region – Problems and Solutions

Chair: Professor Kevin Marjoribanks

Sturt Theatre

10.30 am Morning Tea and Poster Sessions N33011.00 am Six Concurrent Sessions various1.00 pm Lunch in the Staff Room (purchased from DeCafe) DeCafe2.00 pm Six Concurrent Sessions various4.00 pm Afternoon Tea and Poster Sessions N3304.30 pm The Jim Richardson Lecture

Citation: Dr David Thomas Key Note: Professor Colin Brown Title: Indonesia’s future: A role for Australia? Chair: Professor Faith Trent

Sturt Theatre

5.45 pm Barbeque Meal Common Room Glade aka BBQ Area The Concurrent Sessions will consider: STRAND A: Mathematics and Science and ICT and Education N105 STRAND B: Cross Cultural Comparisons N318 STRAND C: Teaching and Learning N317 STRAND D: Special and Early Childhood Education and Lifelong Learning N251aSTRAND E: Educational Management and Learning Styles N251bSTRAND F: Society and Cultural Research and Classroom Studies N315


Strand A : Room N105 Mathematics and Science

Morning Chair: Dr Sivakumar Alagumalai Dr Sivakumar Alagumalai Flinders University Technical Supervisor

11:00 am

Dr Sivakumar Alagumalai and Dr Robert Matthews Flinders University & University of Adelaide Science, mathematics and technology education: Where to from here?

11.30 am Othman Talib and Dr Robert Matthews Graduate School of Education, University of Adelaide Protocol analysis of Malaysian secondary chemistry teachers in solving acid-base stoichiometric problem

12:00 noon Lee Campbell School of Education, Flinders University The design and development of a simulation to teach water con-servation to primary school students

12:30 pm

Tony Gibbons School of Education, Flinders University Scientific values and the teaching of science

ICT and Education Afternoon Chair: Dr Robert Matthews Dr Sivakumar Alagumalai

University of Adelaide Technical Supervisor 2:00 pm Hesham Alomyan and Dr Wing Au

Graduate School of Education, University of Adelaide Individual differences and its implication in web-based learning design

2:30 pm Kylie Thompson School of Education, Flinders University An exploratory study of the effects of word processing versus traditional writing methods on the quality of story writing in a Year 6/7 classroom

3:00 pm Katie Holloway School of Education, Flinders University Using learning objects to improve secondary students’ compe-tency in solving problems in trigonometry

3:30 pm Alan Larkin School of Education, Flinders University A computer simulation as a significant learning resource

6 Program

Strand B : Room N318 Cross Cultural Comparisons

Morning Chair: Associate Professor Bob Teasdale Dr I.G.N. Darmawan Flinders University Technical Supervisor

11:00 am Joseph Wong School of Education, University of South Australia Are the learning styles of Asian international students culturally or contextually based?

11:30 am Alexandra Holeva Graduate School of Education, University of Adelaide Greek-Australian families: the noticed shift from an ancestral cultural system Is it a need or a trend?

12:00 noon Pauline Goh Graduate School of Education, University of Adelaide Assessing learning approaches of students in ‘Twinning Degree Programs’ in Malaysia

12:30 pm

Afternoon Chair: Dr Dorothy Hudson Dr I.G.N. Darmawan University of Adelaide Technical Supervisor

2:00 pm Sandra Egege and Dr Salah Kutieleh Student Learning Centre, Flinders University Critical thinking: teaching foreign notions to foreign students

2:30 pm Bill Wood Graduate School of Education, University of Adelaide Innovation, difference, performance: the Mount Barker Waldorf School, South Australia

3:00 pm Yungyang (Katherine) Wang and Dr Margaret Secombe Graduate School of Education, University of Adelaide An empirical study of min ban (people run) tertiary education in Guizhou Province, West China

3:30 pm Ngoc Ba Doan Graduate School of Education, University of Adelaide Linguistic pluralism of Vietnam


Strand C : Room N317 Teaching and Learning

Morning Chair: Associate Professor Roz Murray-Harvey Nick Wallace School of Education, Flinders University Technical Supervisor

11:00 am Ian Blackman School of Education, Flinders University Identifying latent variables that predict graduate-entry medical student achievement

11:30 am Dr Mark Israel and Associate Professor Elizabeth Handsley School of Law, Flinders University ‘It’s the vibe’: fostering collaborative learning in constitutional law in Australia

12:00 noon Dr Shirley M. Yates School of Education, Flinders University Aspirations, progress and perceptions of boys from a single sex school following the changeover to coeducation

12:30 pm Dr David Badenoch School of Education, University of South Australia Interdisciplinary curriculum design and teaching for integrative learning and development of graduate qualities: a case study of reconceptualising Physical Education

Afternoon Chair: Professor Mike Lawson Nick Wallace School of Education, Flinders University Technical Supervisor

2:00 pm TuAnh Thi Tran School of Education, Flinders University University students’ pedagogical knowledge about lecturers’ use of questions

2:30 pm Regina Anyanwu Student Learning Centre, Flinders University Lessons on plagiarism – issues for teachers and learners

3:00 pm Karen Lee Graduate School of Education, University of Adelaide A case study investigation of teacher collaboration and learning

3:30 pm Mirella Wyra School of Education, Flinders University Keyword mnemonic method in foreign vocabulary learning: the effects of elaborated retrieval training on forward recall

8 Program

Strand D : Room N251a Special Education and Lifelong Learning

Morning Chair: Dr Maria McCann David Curtis School of Education, Flinders University Technical Supervisor

11.00 am Emily Carroll Vision and Learning Institute Visual attention span and optometric conditions Is there a con-nection between a poor VAS and an optometric diagnosis?

11:30 am Heather McDonald School of Education, Flinders University Hearing acuity against background noise – educational implica-tions

12:00 noon

Helen Askell-Williams and Professor Mike Lawson School of Education, Flinders University Students’ knowledge about the value of class discussions for teaching and learning

12:30 pm Neil Welch School of Education, Flinders University Mental health – a theory of adaptation

Lifelong Learning and Early Childhood Education Afternoon Chair: Professor Denis Ralph David Curtis

School of Education, Flinders University Technical Supervisor 2:00 pm David D Curtis and Professor Denis Ralph

School of Education, Flinders University Australian policy on lifelong learning: international comparisons and local solutions

2:30 pm Elizabeth Hill deLissa Institute of Early Childhood and Family Studies, University of S.A. Capturing motherhood: the mother/child relationship in the 1800s in South Australia

3:00 pm Dr Pam Winter School of Education, University of South Australia An evaluation of a curriculum framework for children, birth – age 3 in selected childcare centres in South Australia

3:30 pm Andrew Ikupu and Anne Glover School of Education, University of South Australia Facing the political agendas of social research in developing countries: team researching experiences in Papua New Guinea


Strand E : Room N251b Educational Management

Morning Chair: Alan Larkin Alan Larkin School of Education, Flinders University Technical Supervisor

11:00 am Dr Paddy O’Toole School of Education, Flinders University Organisational effectiveness and knowledge retention systems

11:30 am Ron Chapman School of Education, Flinders University A proposed study on using ISO9000/2000 to develop a business operating system

12:00 noon Doug Trevaskis School of Education, Flinders University The including studies of Asia in curriculum professional devel-opment program – Who’s doing it and why?

12:30 pm

Abdul Sahid School of Education, Flinders University The changing nature of the role of principals in primary and junior secondary schools in South Australia following the intro-duction of local school management (Partnerships 21)

Educational Management and Learning Styles Afternoon Chair: Dr Paddy O’Toole Alan Larkin

School of Education, Flinders University Technical Supervisor 2:00 pm Mathew White

Graduate School of Education, University of Adelaide Positive and negative attitudes to boarding

2:30 pm Carlene Winch-Dummett Flinders University Institute of International Education Teaching processes and practices for an Australian multi-cultural classroom – two complementary models

3:00 pm Hesham Alomyan and Dr Wing Au Graduate School of Education, University of Adelaide Cognitive styles, achievement motivation, prior knowledge and attitudes in web-based learning

3:30 pm Dr Steven Barrett School of Education, Flinders University Emotional labour and the permanent casual lecturer: ideas for a research project

10 Program

Strand F : Room N315 Society and Cultural Research

Morning Chair: Dr Ben Wadham Garth Coulter School of Education, Flinders University Technical Supervisor

11:00 am Heather McKay School of Education, Flinders University Locating the fault line: the intersection of internationalisa-tion and competency based training

11:30 am Dr Judith Peppard and Dr Kay Whitehead School of Education, Flinders University Working historically with traces of women teachers in New-foundland

12:00 noon Grant Banfield School of Education, Flinders University What’s really wrong with ethnography? Towards an emer-gent Marxist method for qualitative researchers

12:30 pm Gavin Sanderson School of Education, Flinders University Existentialism, globalisation and the cultural other

Classroom Studies Afternoon Chair: Dr Larry Owens Garth Coulter

School of Education, Flinders University Technical Supervisor 2:00 pm Alison Hunt

Graduate School of Education, University of Adelaide Values caught or taught? Experiences of Year 3 students in a Uniting church school

2:30 pm Lesley Henderson Graduate School of Education, University of Adelaide Affective curriculum

3:00 pm Penny Van Deur School of Education, Flinders University Gifted primary students’ knowledge of self-directed learning

3:30 pm Dr Peter McInerney School of Education, Flinders University Towards a profile for improving numeracy for all students: a whole school approach


12 Program

Symposium 9:15 – 10:30 am Sturt Theatre

Education in the Asia Pacific Region – Problems and

Solutions

Chair: Professor Kevin Majoribanks University of Adelaide

with A panel of researchers including:

Dr Yoshi Nagata

National Foundation for Educational Policy Research, Tokyo, Japan

Education for Peace and International Understanding

Dr Sivakumar Alagumalai EDICT Group, Flinders University

Emerging Information and Communication Technology in Education

Joy de Leo Asia Pacific Network for International Education and Values Education,

Adelaide, Australia

Values Education in a Changing World

Professor Michael J Lawson School of Education, Flinders University

Problem Solving

Associate Professor Phillip Slee School of Education, Flinders University

Bullying in Schools


Morning Concurrent Session 1 11:00 – 11:30 am

Strand A: Room N105

Science, mathematics and technology

education: Where to from here?

Dr Sivakumar Alagumalai Flinders University

The IEA (FIMSS. SIMSS, TIMSS and rTIMSS) and OECD (PISA) studies coupled with performance in international Olympiads (Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics and IT) highlight strengths and weaknesses within a country’s formal curricula and thus students’ learning. To support and enhance students’ growth in learning, a number of standards and competen-cies in science, mathematics and technology are in place for teachers.

This paper seeks to highlight the trend in science, mathematics and technology education, specifically in regards to content, concept and process development. It also ad-dresses the challenges posed by new research studies in these disciplines. The impact of cognitive neurosci-ence, neural network and intelligent systems on the teaching of science, mathematics and technology are explored.

The paper concludes with a discus-sion of DEST’s Australia’s Teach-ers: Australia’s Future: Advancing Innovation, Science, Technology and Mathematics – Agenda for Action, and implications for science, mathe-matics and technology educators in the region.

Strand B: Room N318

Are the Learning Styles of Asian International Students Culturally or Contextually–based?

Joseph Wong University of South Australia

One of the issues that relates to Asian international students’ percep-tions about the quality of higher education is with regards to the difficulties and problems they face while studying in an Australian university. A survey was conducted with 78 First Year to Fourth Year Asian international undergraduate students undergoing a range of programs and courses at a South Australian University to determine their perspective of quality in higher education. Further interviews were carried out with 9 Asian international students to gain insights into their difficulties and learning experiences. Based on these interviews, the three main difficulties highlighted by Asian international students are: different learning styles, cultural barriers and language problems. This paper seeks to highlight the initial problems faced by Asian interna-tional students in terms of learning styles and how they strive to over-come these difficulties through discussions and practice. These findings present implications for the use of appropriate teaching strategies with Asian international students.

Strand C: Room N317

Identifying latent variables that predict

graduate-entry medical student achievement

Ian Blackman Flinders University

A hypothetical model is developed to examine factors that influence achievement for graduate-entry medical students in their third year of university studies. The 9 latent variables investigated consist of 3 broad areas including the students’ background, previous successes with their undergraduate and postgraduate studies and their capacity to study graduate-entry medicine based on their pre-course aptitude and inter-view selection processes. The academic and clinical achievement of ninety-nine graduate entry medi-cal students is estimated by measur-ing their accomplishment with two quite distinct assessment methodolo-gies, a one hundred and fifty item multiple choice examination and a twenty item objectively structured clinical evaluations (OSCE). The model examining student pathways leading to achievement was tested using Latent Variable Partial Least Square analysis (LVPLS) and the study’s outcomes suggest that medical student achievement can be predicted by six variables, which accounts for well over forty per cent of the variance of scores that make up the medical student achievement variable.

14 Program


Strand D: Room N251a

Visual Attention Span and Optometric

Conditions: Is there a connection between a

poor VAS and an optometric diagnosis?

Emily Carroll Vision and Learning Institute

This paper investigates whether there is a correlation between a poor Visual Attention Span (VAS) and the child’s optometric status. Irre-spective of diagnosis females were 5 times more likely to achieve a VAS 3 score greater than 75%, compared to males. Males with convergence excess were 10 times more likely than females, to not achieve a VAS 3 of greater than 75%. Females with eye teaming problems either had a VAS greater than 75% or it was less than 25%. By contrast, males with eye teaming problems are more likely to achieve a VAS in the 25-75% range. This indicates that children with optometric conditions are more likely to have a poor VAS ability.

Strand E: Room N251b

Organisational effectiveness and

knowledge retention systems

Dr Paddy O’Toole Flinders University

Knowledge retained by an individual can be classified according to the type of memory system. The seman-tic, episodic and procedural memory systems in individuals have been identified through the work of psychologists with brain-damaged patients. This paper argues that this model of individual memory systems can be usefully adapted to investi-gate and audit knowledge retained by organisations, with a view to improv-ing organisational effectiveness. The value of the model is further height-ened when knowledge is also classi-fied according to individ-ual/collective and tacit/explicit dimensions. The paper presents a case study showing how this aug-mented model can be used to high-light strengths and deficiencies in the way organisations manage knowl-edge retention and where valuable knowledge is vulnerable to loss or destruction. This research forms part of a larger empirical study that was conducted in a technology organisa-tion over 10 months. The investiga-tion took place using ethnographic data collection methods and Grounded Theory Method as a means of analysis.

Strand F: Room N315

Locating the fault line: the intersection of

Internationalisation and Competency Based

Training Heather McKay

Flinders University

This paper agues that the Tertiary and Further Education system in Australia has responded to Global-isation in two paradoxical ways; the pro-active response of “internation-alisation” and the reactive response of Competency Based Training.

Competency Based Training cur-rently has a strangle hold on the TAFE sector and education has become a process of domestication and reproduction rather than libera-tion and inspiration.

Using Bateson’s systems model and Foucault’s notions of discourse, it is argued that direct resistance to Competency Based Training is not an effective strategy and may even prove counterproductive.

Given that internationalisation is a discourse that is “allowed” in TAFE in the current context, it is argued that educators can use this as a tool to critique Competency Based Training and gain space for educa-tion that is liberatory and construc-tive.



Strand A: Room N105

Protocol Analysis of Malaysian Secondary Chemistry Teachers in

Solving Acid-Base Stoichiometric Problem

Othman Talib University of Adelaide

This paper is an analysis of the strategies used by Malaysian Secon-dary Chemistry Teachers when problem solving, in order to gain insight into their cognitive processes. Participants were observed whilst solving an acid-base stoichiometric problem by application of the analy-sis protocol procedure. This proce-dure involves the recording of the subjects’ self talk whilst solving the given written task. The written answers were collected for further analysis and recorded verbalized thoughts transcribed. The study shows a strong tendency by Chemis-try teachers to apply formula (with-out significant reflection) as a ‘short-cut’ to solution. The concern is that teaching students to solve problems in this way will not support their conceptual learning. Could the reported growing disinterest in science by Secondary Malaysian students be in part a frustration at such a non-reflective teaching approach?

Strand B: Room N318

Greek-Australian families: The noticed shift from ancestral

cultural system is it a need or a temporary

trend? Alexandra Holeva University of Adelaide

The paper investigates the perspec-tives of Greek origin people as regards their intention to maintain their ancestral culture within the Australian context of social values. This qualitative research, influenced by Humanistic Sociology, analyses data collected through questionnaire from first and second generation parents and teachers of high school students, and identifies a shift in the cultural values of the Greek commu-nity in South Australia towards an equilibrium of shared Greek-Australian values.

The researcher aims to demonstrate that Greek origin parents, educated in Australia, have incorporated social and cultural values of the dominant culture in their ancestral cultural system and proceeded to the creation of a new personal and ethnic group cultural system, which allows them to maintain a dual identity. This shift, indicative of the need to capture the advantages both cultural identities offer, emerges the logical question:

What is the cultural prognosis for the third generation decedents of the Greek Migrants?

Strand C: Room N317

‘It’s the vibe’: Fostering student collaborative

learning in constitutional law in Australia

Dr Mark Israel, Assoc Prof Elizabeth Handsley

and Gary Davis Flinders University

Collaborative learning rests on the belief that students can learn some-thing from working with each other. Apart from improving task-based performance in some contexts, collaborative learning can help students develop group and conflict resolution skills. However, some group work initiatives have been troubled by institutional concerns about the reduction of competitive-ness among students, a diminution of the authority of teachers, difficulties in assessing the contributions of individual students and increased costs in course delivery. Some students have complained that their motivation dropped as a result of group work, and that the delivery and assessment modes adopted to foster collaborative learning were unfairly penalising them.

Within law, documented use of collaborative learning has been largely restricted to clinical pro-grammes. This paper reviews the introduction of the Collaborative Learning in Constitutional Law (CL) Programme to a core non-clinical part of the law degree at Flinders University, South Australia, and explores student, staff and institu-tional attitudes to the collaborative learning programme.

16 Program



Hearing Acuity Against Background Noise –

Educational Implications

Heather McDonald Flinders University

103 junior primary school children were administered the Goldman-Fristoe-Woodcox Test of Auditory Discrimination (G-F-W) . The G-F-W provided an assessment of the children’s ability to discriminate words under quiet and noise condi-tions. Teachers completed a short questionnaire for 65 of the children regarding their classroom behaviour. The classroom behaviours on the questionnaire included many that are thought to be indicative of an atten-tion problem, based on the DSM-IV Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder-Inattentive subtype. Class-room acoustical measurements were taken and a parent/caregiver ques-tionnaire was completed for the 103 children in the study.

A statistically significant relationship was found between classroom behaviours and the children’s ability to discriminate words against back-ground noise.

The implications of these findings in relation to the assumptions made in DSM-IV for AD/HD are discussed. A review of previous research is provided regarding the effect of classroom acoustics on all children’s learning, and a review of solutions to these problems is provided. Con-cluding comments present an over-view of the implications for audi-ological testing and future research directions.


A proposed study on using ISO9000/2000 to

develop a business operating system.

Ron Chapman Flinders University

Despite significant pressures to install ISO 9000 quality management systems and the exponential growth in the number of certifications worldwide, these systems have often failed to deliver expected organisa-tional benefits.

What are the reasons for these failures, and how can these systems be installed to ensure the expected benefits are achieved? This study will be conducted using a literature review and past empirical case studies to draw conclusions on how a model of business operating systems can be successfully implemented

Strand F: Room N315

Working historically with traces of women

teachers in Newfoundland

Dr Judith Peppard and Dr Kay Whitehead

Flinders University

“In order to capture the fragmenta-tion and fluidity of modernity he (Walter Benjamin) assembled ‘traces’—minutiae of everyday experience—to bring elements of the past into the present—images to be juxtaposed like film.” In this paper we are working with the ‘traces’—the ‘minutiae of everyday experience’—of women who taught in outport communities in New-foundland in the pre-Confederation era. These experiences will be examined through the lens of the teaching life of Winnie Grandy, who taught in Newfoundland and Labra-dor schools from 1933 to 1944. Juxtaposing a variety of texts—archival records, Winnie’s reflec-tions on her teaching life, the photo-graph album she compiled during her teaching years and the memories of family and former students—we seek to make these experiences of the past a concern of the present and in doing so illuminate both.



Strand A: Room N105

The design and development of a

simulation to teach Water Conservation to

primary school students Lee Campbell Flinders University

ICT plays a dominant role in enhanc-ing teaching and learning. Similar advances have been made in the use of multimedia in the classroom. These advances are coupled with newer developmental tools and techniques.

This paper examines the design and development of a simulation on Water Conservation. Science con-cepts taught through traditional methods are brought to life through animation and multimedia. The paper examines the underlying instructional design and pedagogy for developing useful simulations. It also highlights the support provided by currently available authoring tools.

The paper concludes with how the effectiveness of simulations can be examined, and discusses issues around the use of simulations and learning objects in primary class-rooms.

Strand B: Room N318

To What Extent are Students in Malaysia able to accommodate

different Approaches to Learning Expected by

Overseas Western Curricula? Pauline Goh

University of Adelaide

The enactment of the1996 Private Higher Education Act in Malaysia saw a rapid expansion of private higher educational colleges, and an increase of students enrolled in these colleges. Many of these colleges have established linkages called ‘Twinning Degree Programs’ with overseas western universities, of which Australia and UK are well represented. Student enrolment increased in such colleges from 127,594 students in 1995 to 294,600 in 2002.

This conference will report on the approaches to learning identified by students from private higher educa-tional colleges in Malaysia, who are in their 2nd and 3rd year of under-graduate studies. Although much research has been carried out on the learning approaches of Asian stu-dents studying in Australia and British universities, very little attention has been given to examin-ing the approaches to learning of Asian students undertaking the Australian and UK twinning degree programs in private colleges in Malaysia. The extent to which the revised two-factor Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F) devel-oped to identify the approaches to learning of tertiary students can be applied in Malaysia is briefly exam-ined.

The findings may be of some interest to administrators and educators of Australian and British higher educa-tional institutions as they seek to address the challenges of ‘exporting’ their curricula to countries where

Strand C: Room N317

Aspirations, progress and perceptions of boys from a single sex school

following the changeover to coeducation Dr Shirley Yates

Flinders University

Career and further education aspira-tions, educational progress and perceptions of the learning environ-ment were measured annually over three years in primary and secondary boys from a single sex independent school, following the changeover to coeducation. Hierarchical Linear Modelling analyses revealed the significant role played by the career aspirations of cohorts on boys’ progress over time. Further educa-tion plans and perceived difficulty of schoolwork were also significant influences, with difficulty at the grade level affecting boys’ progress over time. Furthermore, satisfaction with life at school at both cohort and grade levels was a significant deter-minant of boys’ educational pro-gress. These findings suggest new directions for research into single sex/coeducational learning environ-ments.

18 Program



Students' knowledge about the value of class discussions for teaching

and learning Helen Askell-Williams and

Dr Mike Lawson Flinders University

During interviews, Primary, Secon-dary, TAFE and University students have told us that becoming involved in class discussions helps them to learn. Thus, class discussions can be considered to be a valuable cross-age pedagogical technique. This paper begins by providing interview extracts, organised into key themes, to illustrate students’ perspectives about value of class discussions for constructing knowledge.

Next, we focus upon Teacher Educa-tion students because, as well as using class discussions to facilitate their own learning, they might also employ class discussions with their own, prospective, students. We introduce a generative power rubric to investigate the quality of students’ knowledge about class discussions.

We conclude that, as a group, participants’ knowledge about the pedagogical possibilities of class discussions is wide ranging. How-ever, there are substantial individual differences in the quality of that knowledge, which will affect each individual’s ability to exploit discus-sions as a learning technique.


The including studies of Asia in curriculum

professional development program:

Who’s doing it and why?

Doug Trevaskis Flinders University

This paper aims to provide a general overview of the teacher cohort who undertook a major professional development program Including Studies of Asia in Curriculum in South Australia in 2000. The first delivery of this nationally developed program had occurred in South Australia in 1995, with a course designed for primary teachers. Following the addition of a course designed for secondary teachers in 1996, two courses were then deliv-ered each year.

As the Including Studies of Asia in Curriculum program was the princi-pal vehicle for introducing South Australian teachers to Studies of Asia, ensuring its ongoing attractive-ness was critical. This required understanding of the general factors predisposing teachers towards professional development, as well as a thorough knowledge of the particu-lar context and clientele. The only source of data about the program itself was an earlier national evalua-tion based on the 1995 deliveries of the primary version in most states and territories. What was needed, therefore, was an up-to-date picture, based specifically on the South Australian situation.

Based on the responses, the Includ-ing Studies of Asia in Curriculum course was able to be adapted for subsequent delivery, as well as which advanced training courses were able to be developed in line with the needs of the target group.

Strand F: Room N315

What’s Really Wrong With Ethnography?

Towards an Emergent Marxist Method for

Qualitative ResearchersGrant Banfield Flinders University

This paper explores Martin Ham-mersley’s provocative question: ‘What’s wrong with ethnography?’ [Hammersley 1992]. As such, it is neither a reactionary defence of ethnography nor a blind attack on its legitimacy. While in support of Hammersley’s project, this paper draws attention to some of its short-comings. These centre on two closely related issues. Firstly, it notes Hammersley’s avoidance of ontology in favour of epistemology. Drawing on Bhaskarian critical realism the ontological status of structure and its relation to forms of human practice are taken seriously. Secondly, the paper questions Hammersley’s quick dismissal of ‘orthodox’ Marxism as a viable theory for critical ethnography. Employing the critical realist and Emergent Marxist ideas of stratifica-tion and emergence, the paper argues that ‘orthodox’ historical material-ism’ is essential to any worthwhile critical ethnography.



Strand A: Room N105

Scientific values and the teaching of science

Tony Gibbons Flinders University

The orthodox position amongst science educators is that there are values peculiar to science. This separates a value system of science from that of moral and social values. It creates for curriculum designers and teachers a distinctive value system to be acquired by the student. The distinction is misconceived and leads to a failure to realize what is taught in teaching science. It ignores the nature of reflection and the place of the virtues in human life.

Strand C: Room N317

Interdisciplinary Curriculum Design and Teaching for Integrative

Learning and development of

Graduate Qualities: A case study of

reconceptualising Physical Education

Dr David Badenoch University of South Australia

Critics have called for a new ap-proach and vision for teaching and learning about physical education, one that educates the whole person and is based on what it would be like to be physically educated in the 21st century. Simultaneously university staff have been challenged to de-velop specified generic graduate qualities relevant to the new millen-nium.

These professional challenges provided the basis for the design, implementation and evaluation of an innovative interdisciplinary third year university subject in physical education.

This paper discusses the rationale, curriculum design, integrated learn-ing, assessment tasks and students’ perceptions of this subject.

Information has been gathered through the collection of quantitative and qualitative data. Analysis reveals student experiences are generally positive and that a substan-tial majority believed they had progressed significantly in the development of the desired graduate qualities.

The paper concludes by speculating that the results may provide some valuable clues to how we might tackle the problematic process of teaching the whole person in physi-cal education during the new cen-tury.

20 Program



Mental Health- A Theory of Adaptation

Neil Welch Flinders University

People frequently develop mental health difficulties after experiencing life-disrupting events such as serious injury, assault, physical illness and relationship break-up. This paper presents a learning based theory to explain the adaptation process and the development of, and ‘recovery’ from, mental health problems.

The theory assumes that adaptation is about performing an evolving set of tasks and activities that emanate out of the individual’s social and cultural contexts and practical circumstances.

In outlining this theory the author will pay special attention to the ‘recovery’ process and the alterna-tive ways by which this can occur.


The Changing Nature of the Role of Principals in

Primary and Junior Secondary Schools in

South Australia Following the

Introduction of Local School Management

(Partnerships 21) Abdul Sahid

Flinders University

This paper discusses the changing nature of the role of principals following the introduction of local school management (Partnerships 21) in South Australia. The Study reports the series of interviews with primary and junior secondary school principals with regard to their roles in several areas namely; instructional process, curriculum, decision mak-ing, teachers’ professional develop-ment, staff selection and supervision, supervision of students and school council and the parents of the stu-dents. The findings suggest that there are not significant changes in the role of primary and junior secondary school principals as a result of the introduction of local school man-agement (Partnerships 21). A major change occurred in the area of staff selection in which the processes and procedures of staff selection were formerly determined centrally by the Department of Education, Training and Employment. However, the study indicates that the workload of school principals following the introduction of local school man-agement (Partnerships 21) in South Australia has increased as new tasks associated with budgeting, working with school council and decision making start to emerge.

Strand F: Room N315

Existentialism, globalisation and the

cultural other Gavin Sanderson

Flinders University

Globalisation is not a new phenome-non but the world has never before been subject to global forces which are characterised by such extensity, intensity, velocity and impact. Modern technology and communica-tions effectively compress ‘human’ time and space and we regard the world as a smaller place. One out-come of this has been greater contact with the ‘Cultural Other’. No longer can we think of ‘strangers and the strange’ as dislocated entities that are peripheral to our own lives. For this to be a positive experience for all parties, there are some shortcom-ings to acknowledge and some hurdles to overcome. Concisely, we have been inconsistent in our efforts to connect with the Cultural Other. Furthermore, current neo-libera l globalisation agendas would not seem to augur well for improving on this record. This paper examines our contemporary engagement with the Cultural Other from an existential perspective and introduces the idea of the ‘fear of the unknown’ as a foundation of our difficulty in accepting Otherness. It also offers a way forward by means of the internationalisation of the self.


Afternoon Concurrent Session 5 2:00 – 2:30 pm

Strand A: Room N105

Individual differences and its implications in web-based learning

design Hesham Alomyan and

Dr Wing Au University of South Australia

In the past ten years the Web has attracted many educators for pur-poses of teaching and learning. The main advantage of the Web lies in its non-linear interaction. This means that students can have more control over their learning paths. However, this freedom of control may causes, for some students, disorientation, cognitive overload and distraction problems. To investigate these problems researchers have shifted there focus towards finding how is web-based learning used by learners with different characteristics and preferences. In this paper, we outline the findings of some research on individual differences in the context of web-based learning. We also address how we can adapt web-based learning systems to learners’ needs and styles. And then we suggest a web-based learning model, developed based on analysis of findings of these studies

Strand B: Room N318

Critical Thinking: Teaching foreign notions to foreign

students Dr Salah Kutieleh and

Sandra Egege Flinders University

The internationalisation of Austra-lian universities presents a double challenge for student support ser-vices - to provide academic support programs that address perceived culturally based academic differ-ences and to provide support pro-grams which are culturally sensitive, inclusive and which contribute to the success of international students. Critical thinking is a paradigmatic case. Universities insist that critical thinking is a requirement of quality academic work while academics bemoan the lack of a critical ap-proach to study by international students in general, and Asian students in particular. The challenge for transition programs is how to incorporate critical thinking within their framework without adopting either a deficit or assimilationist approach. In the following paper, we discuss the difficulties inherent in this challenge and put forward a possible approach adapted from a strand of the IAP. However, ques-tions are raised about the overall value of teaching critical thinking in this context.

Strand C: Room N317

University Students’ Pedagogical Knowledge about Lecturers’ use of

Questions Tu Anh Tran and Dr Mike Lawson

Flinders University

The aim of this study was to investi-gate the pedagogical knowledge that students have about lecturers' use of questions, how it is organized, how it varies among students, and how it relates to teachers' pedagogical knowledge. First and fourth year students from a university in Viet-nam watched a videotaped lecture and completed a questionnaire about their understanding of different types of questions. A subset of students from both groups and six lecturers completed semi-structured inter-views. The results showed that students had detailed pedagogical knowledge about the purposes of teacher questions and about the effects of these questions on teach-ers’ teaching procedures and on students’ learning. Both students and teachers showed considerable variation in the complexity of their pedagogical knowledge.

22 Program



Australian Policy on Lifelong Learning:

International Comparisons and Local

Solutions David Curtis and Prof Denis Ralph

Flinders University

Over recent years, Commonwealth and State governments in Australia have begun to invoke notions of lifelong learning in education and training policy documents. However, the position of lifelong learning in Australia appears to be rhetorical rather than substantive. By compari-son, many other countries have been able to include conceptions of lifelong learning in their social and educational policy frameworks and have been able to operationalise the construct. We argue that debate is required urgently in Australia that articulates the construct in ways that address social and educational policy challenges and that are specific to Australia. We suggest that a national conception of lifelong learning that gives the construct local credence may lead to productive, concrete and practical policy initiatives.


Positive and negative attitudes towards

boarding Mathew White


What are Australian pupils’ attitudes to boarding? Despite widespread analysis of English and American pupils the views of Australian boarders remain chiefly unrecorded. This article contributes to this area of investigation. It examines the experiences of 45 Australian and overseas pupils at a coeducation boarding school. The respondents for this study were asked to write memoirs of 2-5,000 words about their boarding experience emphasis-ing their thoughts, feelings and aspirations. The memoir-based humanistic approach of Znaniecki further developed for the multi-ethnic context of Australia by Smolicz was employed in order to analyse the pupils’ memoirs. The respondents indicate that negative aspects of boarding school life include: homesickness, rules, lack of privacy and the intensity of the boarding school world. However, positive aspects include: friendship, independence, the opportunity for a better standard of education, access to good facilities, and improved relations with parents. The evidence of respondents’ positive attitudes towards boarding, but limited oppor-tunity to articulate this, suggests an untapped source of sociological research that may challenge stereo-typical maxims about Australian boarding previously accepted.

Strand F: Room N315

Values: Caught or Taught? Experiences of

Year 3 Students in a Uniting Church School

Alison Hunt University of Adelaide

This study investigated whether values were taught or caught in the experiences of Year 3 students in a Uniting Church school for boys.

Research indicates the need for values education particularly for boys (Lovat and Schofield, 1998), the importance of the home and family in establishing a values foundation (Astill, 1998) and the role of schools in supporting the development of values (Fallon, 1995).

Using a Humanistic Sociology conceptual framework and method-ology, a prescribed Values Educa-tion program was taught and Student Personal Statements and Parent Questionnaires were analysed.

Prior to the teaching of the unit the students had “caught” a narrow understanding of the value as it applied to themselves and their immediate classroom setting. After the program had been “taught” the students’ experiences developed beyond themselves to their family and community perspectives. Their language used more positive mean-ings and more abstract forms.



Strand A: Room N105

An exploratory study of the effects of word processing versus traditional writing

methods on the quality of story-writing in a Year

6/7 classroom Kylie Thompson

Flinders University

Information Communications Tech-nology (ICT) is a key focus in South Australian schools and curriculum documents (DECS, 2001), is inte-grated across the curriculum and is used extensively to support students’ learning. Word processing is an element of ICT that may influence students’ writing in the classroom.

DECS (2001) advocates the use of ICT in the classroom, but it seems that the benefits of ICT are often assumed. It is important to study the effects of its influence to ensure that teachers are providing students with the most beneficial methods for their learning.

The paper highlights the findings of a study undertaken with Year 6/7 students. Students were assigned story-writing tasks to be completed using either word processing or traditional methods. A story-writing rubric was created to assess each story. The paper focuses not only on the overall quality of the writing, but also specific language conventions and aspects of style and content. The paper raises issues in implementing writing in the classroom.

Strand B: Room N318

Innovation, Difference, Performance

Bill Wood University of Adelaide

This paper has three distinct parts, though they are fundamentally linked.

Part one looks at contemporary concerns of government around the issue of innovation in schools'. It accepts the putative coherence of the concerns expressed in these reports and considers how the substance of these concerns have been independ-ently addressed over an eleven year period (1991-2001) by the Mount Barker Waldorf School.

Part two looks at some of the struc-tural, organisational and curricular differences between the above school and other local, non-Waldorf schools.

Part three considers the university performance of a sub-group of students from the school. This sub-group completed Y12 at the school and subsequently attended univer-sity. Further, with two publicly recognised examples, the paper considers one innovative aspect of the Y12 curriculum. In the schedule of schooling adopted by Waldorf Schools, and the Mount Barker Waldorf School in particular, the development of independence of mind and the potential for innovation is thought to be optimal at the Y12 level.

Strand C: Room N317

Lessons on plagiarism: issues for teachers and

learners Regina Anyanwu

Flinders University

Whilst student difficulty with aca-demic referencing is not new, it is apparent that many tertiary students are not skilled in following referenc-ing conventions, are confused about what does and does not constitute plagiarism in the eyes of academics, and fearful of the consequences. This paper begins by examining the cases of a number of students at an Australian university who have been suspected of academic dishonesty. It examines the students’ prior instruc-tion on academic referencing and their understanding of the concept of plagiarism. It also examines the feedback that staff have given the students concerned and how useful that has been from the students’ perspective. Whilst researching this topic, issues relating to how cases of suspected plagiarism are handled emerged. This paper is an initial exploration of some of the issues that arise when handling referencing and plagiarism at tertiary institutions, which affect both students and staff.

24 Program



The mother/child relationship of the 1800’s in South

Australia

Elizabeth Hill University of South Australia

This paper will present research based on work-in-progress towards a Masters by Research in Education with the School of Education at the University of South Australia. The research takes the form of a histori-cal investigation of the period 1836 to 1900 in South Australia. It exam-ines the experiences of colonial mothers living in South Australia and what influenced the physical challenges of immigration, the social expectations and how such emo-tional and physical experiences impacted on mothers and children. The narrative stories of selected women allows a better understanding of their responses to their experi-ences of birth, child separation and child death. When mothers are faced with the birth of a child and with their separation or death the experi-ence shows how the social structures influenced their actions and gives a revealing insight into motherhood and childhood of a selected period in the nineteenth century.


Teaching processes and practices for an

Australian multicultural classroom – two

complementary models Carlene Winch-Dummett

Flinders University

“Which pedagogical processes that target the recognition, value and sharing of world views in teaching and learning can be identified as strategies for learning to live to-gether in an Australian multicultural classroom?” The question is ad-dressed by this paper which presents two discrete but complementary pedagogical models that display the successful teaching processes and practices of teachers in Australian multicultural classrooms. These processes and practices accord with the Delors Report recommendations that education for the future should be organised around the four pillars of learning i.e., learning to be, learning to do, learning to know and learning to live together.

Strand F: Room N315

Affective Curriculum Lesley Henderson


The social and emotional well-being of students is the focus of many programs developed for use by teachers in schools. How well developed are our teachers' social and emotional literacy skills? What are some of the key knowledge and skill components of emotional literacy? Whilst my research is at an early stage, this presentation will outline some of the current literature supporting my study.



Strand A: Room N105

Using learning objects to improve secondary

students’ competency in solving problems in

trigonometry Katie Holloway Flinders University

Computer assisted teaching is a field of education that is subject to grow-ing interest from schools and gov-ernments alike. Of particular interest in this area is the idea of using learning objects to explain concepts to students.

This study examined the effect of using learning objects in conjunction with different instruction modes. The research, conducted at an Adelaide metropolitan private school, meas-ures and analyses 20 Year 10 stu-dents’ competency in solving mathematics problems of varying complexity, involving the Sine Rule. The data collection phase included a pre-test, one unit of instruction, an interim test, a second unit of instruc-tion (where the two groups swapped instruction modes), then a final test.

The findings of this study indicate that using learning objects with either mode of instruction examined produced some improvement in the participants’ ability to solve simple problems, and may improve compe-tency in solving complex problems. There were also indications that using a fully guided approach produced a greater level of im-provement in solving simple prob-lems, and tends to produce more uniform results across a group of students. These findings are consis-tent with the literature.

Strand B: Room N318

An Empirical Study of Min Ban (People Run) Tertiary Education in

Guizhou Province, West China

Yungyang Wang and Dr Margaret Secombe


Chinese Min Ban (people-run) tertiary educational institutions have increased dramatically in recent years. This paper aims to discuss the government deregulation policy and its impact on Min Ban tertiary education in China since the 1980s, particularly in Guang Dong prov-ince, an economical developed area and Gui zhou province, a compara-tively undeveloped area in China.

The only private college in Guizhou province was selected for investiga-tion. One hundred and eleven stu-dents and 66 parents completed the questionnaires. The investigation focused on the enrolment intentions of students and parents to Min Ban colleges, parents’ views on tuition fees of Min Ban education, the perceptions of parents about the advantages and disadvantages of Min Ban educational institutions.

Based on the research, the conclu-sion can be drew that in West China, Min Ban education is still at its infant stage, not only in terms of its enrolment, academic quality, but also in the way that Min Ban higher education was generally not fa-vourably perceived by the students and parents.

Strand C: Room N317

A Case Study Investigation of Teacher

Collaboration and Learning Karen Lee


This study investigates the condi-tions that promote or inhibit teacher collaboration, and its implications for teachers’ professional develop-ment and learning. The investigation is based on research studies, which indicate that cultures of collabora-tion have positive and systematic connections to teachers’ sense of efficacy and professional practices. Understanding the conditions that encourage or inhibit teachers’ collaboration in their work is essen-tial to teachers’ learning and the improvement of their professional practices. The methodology involved a qualitative case study investigation of one school. The outcomes of teachers’ professional learning, as indicated by the findings of this study, depend to a large extent on the capability and skills of teachers to engage in joint work and consulta-tion with colleagues and the school leaders who support and facilitate teachers’ professional learning. Creating collaborative learning opportunities proved important for developing teachers’ cognitive reasoning and critical reflection.

26 Program



An Evaluation of a Curriculum Framework

for Children, Birth – Age 3 in Selected Childcare

Centres in South Australia

Dr Pam Winter University of South Australia

The paper will report on a research project that evaluated the first phase of the South Australian Curriculum Standards and Accountability Framework (SACSA). The research focused on children birth-age 3 in selected childcare centres in South Australia. The University of South Australia & DETE (now the De-partment of Education and Chil-dren’s Services) won a Government linkage grant to evaluate this phase of the SACSA framework. The study commenced in 2000.

The presentation will discuss the SACSA framework and the method-ology used to evaluate it in 10 childcare centres. The research combined both qualitative and quantitative methods and was under-taken through a case study approach. Four variables of quality were used to evaluate children's curriculum, two predictor (relationships and an active learning environment) and two outcome (children's well-being and involvement). The Leuven Involvement Scale for Toddlers and three other instruments specifically developed for the study were used to measure changes in curriculum quality. Data was gathered from multiple perspectives (children's, educators', parents', policymakers' and researchers') (Katz, 1993) to evaluate and develop rich under-standings about the quality of child-care curriculum and factors, which influence quality. The findings will be presented.


Cognitive Styles, Achievement

Motivation, Prior Knowledge and

Attitudes in Web-Based Learning

Hesham Alomayn and Dr Wing Au

University of South Australia

This study aimed to investigate the effect of student’s cognitive styles, achievement motivation, prior knowledge, and attitudes on stu-dent’s achievement in web-based learning. A web-based course was designed for second year university students in educational psychology. Cognitive Style Analysis (CSA), Achievement Motivation Scale (AMS), and Attitude Questionnaire (AQ) were administered to a sample of 71 second-year university student enrolled in an educational psychol-ogy class. Findings of the study revealed that no significant differ-ences (.05) in achievement between field-dependent and field-independent students. Also, students with different characteristics learned equally well in web-based learning. The students enjoyed the conven-ience and self-controlled learning pace and were motivated by competition and high expectations in web-based learning. Prior knowledge and motivation were the only signifi-cant factors that explained more than 25% of student achievement meas-ured by class grade.

Strand F: Room N315

Gifted primary students' knowledge of self-directed learning

Penny Van Deur Flinders University

Gifted students are often described in the literature as being self-regulated, self-directed learners. Ten gifted primary students were inter-viewed in order to clarify the con-cept of self-directed learning in students of primary age. Students provided information on their knowledge of self-directed learning, explanations of the self-directed learning process, self-directed learning at school and out-of-school, learning preferences, and their attitudes to self-directed learning. Gifted students' views were com-pared with those of ten randomly selected students and four students identified as having learning difficul-ties in classroom work.

For gifted students, understandings of self-directed learning included internal influences such as initiative, effort, and persistence, and external influences included time manage-ment strategies, working with others , seeking help from others, and using resources.

The paper introduces a model of self-directed learning in primary school students. The model includes motivation, learning strategies and the nature of the school context.



Strand A: Room N105

A Computer Simulation as a Significant

Learning Resource Alan Larkin

Flinders University

Early versions of Microsoft Flight simulator utilized primitive graphics and line representations of aircraft, air field and the simulations were generally good for some entertain-ment but rather limited in their potential as educational resources. The more recent editions, which employ very sophisticated graphics and sound capabilities, make greater use of contemporary hardware capacities particularly the speed of CPU, RAM memory and hard drive capacity. The integration of very successful ideas developed by third party developers, particularly with regard to sophisticated flight models, panels, airports and sound files, into successive versions of Flightsim software has greatly enhanced the educational potential for the evolv-ing software.

This paper will identify some key significant features of effective microcomputer-based simulations and provide a brief overview of potential educational contributions of one particular commercially available software package. Micro-soft Flight Simulator will be used as an example of software developed for entertainment and general inter-est which has enormous potential in education for classroom use, particu-larly in mathematics and science, and in professional development of teachers and other educators.

Strand B: Room N318

Linguistic pluralism of Vietnam

Ngoc Ba Doan University of Adelaide

It would be possible that Vietnam has been known as an ethnologically and linguistically plural society. However, the answers to such questions as: How many languages are being spoken within the border of this country? Do they all have both spoken and written forms? How far do people of the ethnic communi-ties have any rights to learn their languages or to be educated in their mother tongues? Do ethnic people have rights to learn the language of the society; Or To what extents do Government policies support such matters of concerns? are not gener-ally known.

For the most part of this paper, I will preliminarily attempt to answer these questions from my recent investiga-tion. The final part of my discussion in this paper will then be narrowed to the purpose of my M. Ed. Studies at the University of Adelaide, which has been identified on the basis of information sought for this paper in relation to language learning and bilingual teacher training for minor-ity language groups in Vietnam.

Strand C: Room N317

Keyword Mnemonic Method In Foreign

Vocabulary Learning: The effects of

elaborated retrieval training on forward

recall Mirella Wyra

Flinders University

The keyword method has been proven to be a successful and useful technique in foreign/second language vocabulary acquisition. The effects of standard keyword method training and practice (treatment group 1) are compared with retrieval elaboration during keyword method training and practice (treatment group 2). Seventy one Year 6 and Year 7 students learning Spanish as a second lan-guage from three South Australian primary schools participated in this study. Data were analysed using the hierarchical linear modelling (HLM) procedure. The results showed a significant effect of study method favouring the retrieval elaboration group. There were also significant Year level and ability to form images effects on recall. An unexpected school effect was also examined.

28 Program



Facing the Political Agendas of Social

Research in Developing Countries: Team

Researching Experiences from

Papua New Guinea Anne Glover and

Andrew Ikupu University of South Australia

This paper is a contribution to the literature on the role of research and researchers in educational change programs in developing nations. It explores the idea of identifying developmental issues around educa-tion change agendas and designing research approaches to address those issues. This presentation advocates a team approach to research. The authors strongly suggest a approach that strategically links the relevant studies undertaken by the different team members towards a common policy goal. The presentation takes cognisance of the notion of neutrality in the name of research but strongly believe that researching aspects of educational change within a devel-opmental framework is riddled with political connotations. The feasibil-ity of sharing common narratives, especially in the documentation of the study contexts is explored.

The discussions are organized under six headings: The Development Agenda, Researchers’ Motivations, Research Design, Research Process, Research Report and Conclusions.


Emotional Labour and the Permanent Casual Lecturer: Ideas for a

Research Project Steven Barrett


Like most other parts of the Austra-lian public sector, Australian univer-sities have been required to do more with less over the past decade. A key strategy in reducing costs has been the increased casualisation of teach-ing. This paper uses a hard/soft model to human resource manage-ment as a framework within which to argue that increased casualisation of university teaching has increased the emotional labour associated with casual teaching. The intensification of emotional labour is usually accompanied by increase workplace stress. Furthermore, this emotional labour is neither recognised nor valued by university managers. This paper briefly reviews the concept of emotional labour and then identifies a range of issues that are contribut-ing to the intensification of the emotional labour that is being performed by casual teaching staff. The paper then discusses a range of strategies that university managers should implement reduce the stress associated with emotional labour.

Strand F: Room N315

Towards a profile for improving numeracy for

all students: A whole school approach Dr Peter McInerney

Flinders University

What does it mean to be numerate in today's society? Can children be taught the knowledge and skills so they become more numerate? What is the relationship between mathe-matics and numeracy? What strate-gies might schools adopt to improve numeracy for all students? This paper outlines the findings and outcomes of the recent research project which sought to identify the practices and processes that support students to become high numeracy achievers in the middle primary years of schooling. One of the central findings of the study is that that more enduring and significant improvements in numeracy outcomes require a sustained whole school approach to ensure an integrated and coherent approach to school plan-ning, professional development and classroom practices across the school. The paper will outline policy context, the aims and outcomes of the project, the research methodol-ogy and major findings of the study.


The Jim Richardson Lecture 4:30 – 4.45 pm Sturt Theatre

Citation for Emeritus Professor James Richardson by

Professor Bob Teasdale School of Education, Flinders University

Once again today we recognise and celebrate the contributions of Emeritus Profes-sor Jim Richardson to education in South Australia and internationally. Following military service with the British Army during the second World War, and subsequent university study, Jim’s first academic appointment was in 1949 as Lec-turer in Education at Otago University in New Zealand. He next took an appoint-ment as Senior Lecturer at the Remedial Education Centre of the University of Queensland under Professor Fred Schonell. It was here that Jim Richardson founded and became the first editor of the journal, The Slow Learning Child. Under his edi-torship, The Slow Learning Child became one of the leading international journals in special education. From the University of Queensland where he completed his PhD, Jim Richardson was attracted to the University of British Columbia, but after only three years in Canada he returned to Australia as Professor of Education at the University of New England, where he introduced the study of Special Education within the Education major. At the beginning of 1967 Jim Richardson moved to Adelaide to participate in a highly innovative and bold experiment in higher education. He was appointed as both the foundation Professor of Education at Flinders University and as the Princi-pal of the new Bedford Park Teachers’ College in whose buildings we meet today. It was a daunting role, and a hugely demanding one. Jim’s commitment to it never wavered, and under his leadership both the College and the University’s Discipline of Education were set on firm but innovative and visionary foundations. When the Discipline of Education at Flinders University became the School of Edu-cation, Jim was appointed foundation Dean. He continued to serve as Professor of Education at Flinders University until his retirement in 1979, at which time the title of Emeritus Professor was conferred. This afternoon we again acknowledge his very significant achievements through the Jim Richardson Annual Lecture in Education. Ladies and Gentlemen, will you join with me in congratulating and celebrating the contributions of an eminent South Australian educator – Professor Jim Richardson.

30 Program

Key Note Address 4:45 – 5:45 pm Sturt Theatre

Researching Higher Education: Beyond Cross-roads Professor Craig McInnes

Centre for the Study of Higher Education, University of Melbourne The succession of national reviews of higher education over the last five years, culminating now in the Crossroads discussions initiated by the Minister for Educa-tion, Science and Training, present challenges for higher education researchers. The discussion papers and submissions have provided the focal point for debate over both perennial and contemporary issues in higher education, and in perhaps too many instances, the capacity of research into higher education in Australia to inform the debate has been limited. This paper takes as its starting point the key questions raised by the Ministerial Discussion Paper published in April 2002 and reviews the extent to which higher education research has shaped thinking about policy and practice in the issues papers that followed. Regardless of the outcomes of the higher education review, many of the assumptions and conceptual frameworks on which higher education research have been based now require major rethinking. The paper identifies areas where higher education research has been found wanting, and sug-gests possible research agendas for the immediate and long term impacts.

After the conference,

join colleagues for a

Barbecue Dinner

It begins at 5:45pm in the

DeCafe Courtyard

All are Welcome

Donation of $10

Documents

Educational Research Conference - Flinders Universityehlt.flinders.edu.au/education/iej/articles/conferences/ERC2003.pdf · deLissa Institute of Early Childhood and Family Studies,