volume 6 • number 1 • march 2007 Professional educator · 2018. 5. 24. · professional educator • vol 6, no. 1 • march 2007 1 march 2007 ProfessIonal eDucaTor abn 19 004

volume 6 • number 1 • march 2007

Professional educator

‘for the profession’ Join us at www.austcolled.com.au

Indigenous education:outback innovation

Daring to trust: risk management

Integrating IcT: PD for leaders

professional educator • vol 6, no. 1 • march 2007 1

march 2007

ProfessIonal eDucaTorabn 19 004 398 145 issn 1447-3607print post approved pp 255003/02630

Published for the Australian College of Educators by ACER Press

EditoR dr Steve Holden [email protected] 03 9835 7466

jouRnAliSt Rebecca leech [email protected] 03 9835 7458

AuStRAliAn CollEgE of EduCAtoRS AdViSoRY CoMMittEEHugh guthrie, nCVERPatrick Bourke, gooseberry Hill PS, WAgail Rienstra, Earnshaw SC, QldMike Horsley, university of SydneyCheryl o’Connor, ACEPenny Cook, ACE

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2 eDITorIal and leTTers To The eDITor

4 oPInIon

• Kevin Vallencesayseducatorsare‘notyetcompetent’whenitcomes

tocompetency-basedtraining

• Mark Woodenexamineshowwellyoungpeoplearefaring

6 feaTureDomorestandards,regulations,compliancemechanismsandaudits

reducerisksandleadtosafer,andbetter,schools?Notnecessarily,says

Lee-Anne Perry

14 TeachIng anD learnIngTed MyerswenttotheKimberleytoexperiencefirst-handthechallenges

ofeducatingIndigenouspeopleinremotecommunites

22 InnovaTIonIntegratingICTisnotjustabouthardware,softwareorevenonline

communitiesofpractice.It’saboutface-to-faceprofessionaldevelopment

opportunities,especiallyforprincipals,saysNeil McCallum

30 naTIonal PersPecTIve and In brIef

32 IssuesSchool-basedteachereducation:isitthewayforward?Andrew Harvey hassomedoubts

42 revIew

43 The DIary

44 as I see IT... Tampering with a universal lawDanny Katzexplainswhyhavingyourteacherinyourhouseiswrong

Students at Luurnpa Catholic School, WA. Photo courtesy Ted Myers. See story page 14.

2 australian college of educators • acer

eDITorIal

EditorialWith a federal election later

this year, you can expect

education to be wheeled

out for media attention more

than once. Education, after

all, offers an opportunity for

polarisation. Look in the crystal

ball and what do we see? The

economy? Both sides in politics

will claim the ‘prudent’ high

ground. Water management?

Both sides will find plenty of

fix-it money – with maybe a

little federal-state fingerpointing

for variation. Climate change?

While there’s scope for

difference, climate change is

always going to be a tricky

hook on which to hang an

election. Education? Curriculum

reform and standards, teacher

supply and quality, and school

funding: they’re the sort of

thing that give politicians

endless opportunities to show

how different they are. All

the policy fingerpointing,

however, is likely to reduce

the education profession to a

mythical battleground between

didactic disciplinarians in suits

and union-zombie new-age

types in beanbags. Does that

reflect the reality in your staff

room?

letters to the editor

menTorIngDr Frederick Osman, Mathematics educator, Trinity Grammar School, Sydney, and Highly Accomplished Educators representative, Australian College of EducatorsTheAustralianCollegeofEducatorshostedanexcitinginitiativetowelcomeearly-careereducatorsbyputtingthemtogetherwithexperiencededucatorsfromacrossAustraliaatthefirstACEMentoringForumforEarlyCareerandExperiencedEducatorsattheMountSchoenstattConferenceandRetreatCentreinMulgoa,anhourwestofSydney,lastAugust.

Forumparticipantsenjoyedthreedaysworkingwithexperiencededucatorsfromavarietyofinstitutionswhoprovidedrelevantpracticalandtheoreticalmen-toringopportunities.TheForumwasalsoaformofprofessionaldevelopmenttohelpeducatorsestablishanddeveloptheirownmentoringprograms.

Thepowerofmentoringisthatitprovidesguidancetoindividualsintheirprofessionaldevelopment.Whilementoringexistsinaprofessionalcontextsuchastheworkplace,thedevelopingmentoringrelationshipisapersonalone,sotheeffectsofmentoringpermeatesocial,operationalandprofessionalstructuresandnetworks,bothwithinandoutsideanorganisation.

Mentoringinvolvesvariouselementssuchasrolemodelling,counselling,spon-sorship,friendshipandcoaching.Thewaythatmentoringisconceptualisedhasanimpactonallfacetsofamentoringprogram.Inparticular,itinfluencesthewaytherolesofmentorsandprotegésareunderstoodandhowtheyarepreparedforandsupportedinthoseroles.

Someoftheissuesforbeginningteachersidentifiedbyparticipantswere:timeandclassroommanagement,particularlythemanagementofdifficultstudents;howtoworkwithparentsandcommunities;howtosurviveemotionallyinacompeti-tiveeducationsystem;andhowtodevelopvariedteachingstrategiestocaterfordifferentlearningstyles.

Mentoringisgainingpopularityasaprofessionallearningstrategyforeduca-

torsatallphasesoftheirdevelopment.Themajorityofmentoringwritersstresstheimportanceofsomekindoftrainingformentors.Trainingforprotegés ismentionedlessoften.Thistraining,whichmightbebetterreferredtoasprepara-tionandsupport,isintegraltothedevelopmentandimplementationofaformalmentoringprogram.

Theprincipalthemeoftheforumwastodeveloprelationshipsbetweenmentorsandprotegésthatleadtoadevelopmentalprocesstopursuebestpracticeintermsofgoodinductionandmentoringtoenablesuccessfulteaching.ThemorespecificaimsoftheACEMentoringForumwere:• toprovidesupporttoeducatorsintheirearlycareerthroughtheprovisionof

goodinductionandmentoring• tomakemoreeffectiveuseoftheexpertiseofaccomplishededucatorsinorder

toimprovethequalityofteachingandadvancetheeducationprofession• toenhancetheleadershipskillsofaccomplishedandbeginningeducators,and• toharnessthecommitmentandenergyofaccomplishedandbeginningeduca-

torswithaviewtogeneratingandsustainingeducationalreform.FeedbackfromparticipantswasthatthefirstACEMentoringForumfor

EarlyCareerandExperiencedEducatorsmadegoodprogresstowardsachievingthoseaims.Participantsagreedtheeventwasagreatandpowerfulhands-onexperience.


leTTers To The eDITor

suPPorT begInnIng TeachersBob Lipscombe, Senior Vice President, New South Wales Teachers’ FederationTheannualnationalsurveybytheAustralianEducationUnion(AEU)of1,300beginningteachers–thatis,teacherswiththreeyearsorlessexperience–indicatesthatthirty-threepercentofNewSouthWalesbeginningteachersdon’tbelievethey’ll be teaching in ten years time. Figures from the NSW Department ofEducationandTraining(DET),meanwhile,indicatethatapproximatelyfortypercentofteacherswillresignorretirebetween2006and2011.Putthetwotogetherandit’slikelywe’llfacesignificantshortagesinthenot-too-distantfuture.

TheAEUsurveyidentifiedthefollowingtopfourconcernsforNSWbegin-ningteachers:sixty-twopercentlistedbehaviourmanagement;fifty-ninepercentlistedclasssizes;fifty-twopercentlistedworkload;andfifty-onepercentlistedpay.Overall,theresultsofthesurveystronglysupportedthecampaignbytheNewSouthWalesTeachers’Federationforimprovementsforbeginningteachers,includ-inggovernmentactionatboththestateandCommonwealthleveltoencouragenewteacherstoremainintheprofession.Further,itshowsclearlythattheFederationwasrighttoidentifyimprovementsforbeginningteachersasapriorityforthestateelectionthismonth.

Goodsupportintheirearlyyearsofteachingwillhaveagreatimpactonretain-ingnewteachersintothefuture.

Beginningteachersbenefitfromawell-targetedandproperly-fundedinductionprogram.Intheirfirstyearsofteaching,beginningteachersalsoneedareducedteachingloadtoeasethemintothejob,asisalreadycommonplaceinmanyNSWprivateschoolsandsomepublicschoolsinsomestates.Tasmania,forexample,providesatwo-hourreductionintheteachingloadofbeginningteachersinpub-licschools,whileNSWCatholicschoolsprovidereductionsranginguptoadayperweek.Infact,inpartsofNSWwenowhaveDETbeginningteacherswithnoreductioninteachingloadsliterallyworkingacrossthestreetfrombeginningteachersinCatholicschoolswithaone-dayperweekreductioninteachingloads.Unfortunately,intheNSWpublicschoolsystem,oneisexpectedtodoexactlythesameonthefirstdayinajobassomeonewithyearsofexperience.

Beginningteachersrequireandbenefitgreatlyfromsupportandmentoringbyexperiencedteachers.InNSW,approximately2,000newpermanentteachersandmorethan1,000temporaryandcasualteachersentertheworkforceeachyear,yetthereareonlyfiftyfull-time-equivalentteachermentors.Althoughtheteachermentorprogramcommencedin2003,followingrepresentationsbytheFederationandothers,theNSWgovernmenthasdeclinedtoexpandthenumbersoffull-timeteachermentorstotheapproximately300neededtosupportallbeginningteachers.Indoingso,thegovernmenthasignoredanevaluationbyDET’sStrategicResearchDirectorate, inconjunctionwithanindependentacademic,ProfessorChristineDeer,whichdemonstratesjusthowsuccessfulithasbeeninthoseschoolswhereithasoperated.TherecentreleaseofDrLyndsayConnors’sTime and TidereportforthePublicEducationAlliancenowindicatesthesheerweightofevidencethatshowsthereisaneedforsignificantimprovementsforbeginningteachersintheareasofworkload,mentoringandprofessionaldevelopment.

TheNSWgovernmentneedstoprovidesupporttobeginningteachersinpublicschools,atleasttothesamestandardasthatprovidedtotheircounterpartsintheprivatesystem,tomaintainqualityoutcomesinallourclassrooms.

For more on support for beginning teachers, download TimeandTide, by Dr Lyndsay Connors, at http://www.nswtf.org.au/media/latest_2007/files/20070212_time.pdf

Congratulations to Frederick Osman, who wins

a voucher valued at $100 courtesy of Allen and Unwin in association with professional

educator. When it comes to the key educational issues we want

to know your opinion.

Write to us and win.*Email editor.profeducator@acer. edu.au; or write to Letter to the Editor, Professional Educator, ACER Press, Private Bag 55

Camberwell, Vic 3124.

Quality resources for teachers

www.allenandunwin.com

* Letters from ACER staff and families and Allen and Unwin staff and

families will not be eligible to receive a prize. Vouchers are redeemable

for Allen and Unwin titles or imprints to the value of $100.


oPInIon

the meaning of ‘competence’

in competency-based training

has been reduced to ‘performance’

because that’s easy to understand and

assess, says Kevin vallence.

THere’s aTVadthatshowsastackofshelvesladenwithbottlesofmotoroilbeingpushed,aninchatatime,toacheckoutcounter.ItremindsmeofthepaceofchangeinaspectsofTAFEdelivery.In2005,RexOdgersandInamedeightimpedimentstodeliveryflexibilityinTAFE.SincethenI’veidentifiedfourmore,includingcompetency-basedtraining(CBT),thecornerstoneinthepastdecadeofvocationaleducationandtraining.

ThoughCBTisinherentlyflexible,currentlytheextenttowhichitisunder-stoodandpractisedcreatesimpedimentstodeliveryflexibility.There’sbeenaslip-pagebetwixtthetheoreticalcupandthepracticallip.

Bluntly,afteradecade,it’stimetocheckwhatVETpractitionersunderstandby‘competence.’Itseemstomethatithasbeenreducedto‘performance’becausethat’seasytounderstandandassess.Competence,however,hasbeenlostbecauseit’sdifficultbothtounderstandandassess.

Thepassageoftime,ourmanagementphilosophy,ourstaffingpatternsandthewayweuselanguagehavealsoeachcontributedtotheslippage.

CBTinVETisabitoveradecadeold.Thisisashorttimecomparedtothepracticesitreplaced,butadeceptivelylongtimewhenwethinkofhowquicklylanguagechanges.Asapractice,beingonlyadecadeoldmeansthat,withthepos-sibleexceptionofpeopletrainedandassessedwithinthearmedservices,fewofushadourinitialvocationaltrainingassessedusingacompetence-basedmethodology;andifwewereteachinginavocationalcontextbeforethemid-1990swewerenotusingthismethodologytoassess.

Withinthissamedecadetherewasashifttomanagerialism–educatorswerereplacedby‘managers.’Asaresult,someTAFEmanagershaveneitheratheoreti-calknowledgenoranypracticalexperienceoftheassessmentmethodologythatiscentraltowhattheyaremanaging.Thiscriticaldoubleblindspotmeansthatteach-ersoftenhavenoonetowhomtheycanturnforauthoritativeadviceaboutCBT.Conversely,managershavenobasisforjudgingwhetherCBTiseitherunderstoodorbeingimplementedasitwasintended.

Wedon’tneedremindinghowrapidlywords,termsandacronymscomeintoandmovethroughourpersonalandprofessional language.Somereaderswill

rememberwhenthewordVETreferredtoablokewholookedafterthecows;SPAMwas‘spicedham’inatin;andthenearestanyonecametogooglingwasthegreatAustralianspinbowlerArthurMay.YetweusetheinitialsCBTasifeverythingtheystandforisuniversallyunderstood.Evenatthesimplestlevelofmeaningthisisnottrue.NurseswillhearCBTandthinkControlledBreathingTechnique;computerspecialistswillthinkComputer-BasedTraining;counsel-lorswillthinkCognitiveBehaviouralTherapy;andreaderswithassociationstocertainpartsofthebondagecommunitywillthinkofsomethingentirelydiffer-entand,Iimagine,considerablymoreexciting.IfyougoogleforCBT,youhavetoscrollthroughanumberofscreensbeforecompetency-basedtrainingappearsasanentry.

ManyTAFEinstitutesemployandrelyonahiddenworkforceofsessionalteachers.Toooftenthesecriticalstafffalloutsidetheprerequisitequalificationrequirementsandprofessionaldevelopmentexpectationsthatapplytocontractedorpermanentteachers.Officiallytheyareunabletoassessindependently,andthat’sprobablyjustaswellsincefewwouldhavethevaguestideawhatCBTmeans,letalonethatitsefficacyremainsproblematic.

CBThasrolledoffourtonguesfortenyears,butthereisdisconcertingevidencethatunderstandingandpracticehaveslipped,andcontributedtodeliverybeinglessflexiblethanitmightbe.

Is Tafe ‘nyc’ when it comes to

cbT?

Kevin Vallence (FACE) and Rex Odgers completed the Victorian Qualifications Authority study,

Flexibilityofqualificationstomeetthedistinctiveneedsofruraland

regionalcommunities, in 2005. This article is based in part on a pres-

entation Kevin Vallence made to a Victorian TAFE Development Centre

Leadership for Flexibility workshop in November 2006. His most recent

publication is ChangebyDesign, published by Innovative Resources. NYC refers to the CBT assessment

‘not yet competent.’

professional educator • vol 6, no. 1 • march 2007 �

oPInIon

THeAustralianlabourmarkethasbeenexperiencingboom-likeconditionsinrecentyears,soyou’dexpectastrongyouthlabourmarket.Thekeymessagepre-sentedinHow Young People are Faring 2006,however, isthatyouthhavefaredrelativelypoorlyinthatmarket,asreflectedinthecontinueddeclineinthenumberoffull-timejobsheldbyyoungpeople.

Ofcourse,youngpeopleareincreasinglytoldthattheroutetofuturesuccessisviaeducation,sodecliningnumbersinfull-timeemploymentmightbeareasonforcelebrationifthatreflectedrisingparticipationratesineducation.How Young People Are Faring,however,showsthattheproportionofyoungpeoplewhoareneitherinfull-timeworknorinfull-timeeducationremainsstubbornlyhigh.Anobviousquestionfollows:whatisthisgroupofalmost540,000youngpeopledoing?

Thereportinformsusthatofthe14.4percentofteenagerswhoareneitherinfull-timeworknorinfull-timeeducation,aboutforty-fivepercentareinpart-timejobs,justoveranotherquarterareunemployed,andasimilarproportionareneitheremployednorlookingforwork.Amongyoungadults,thefractioninthissituationishigher–23.3percent–andthecomparableproportionsofthisgroupinpart-timework,unemploymentandoutsidethelabourforceareforty-fivepercent,nineteenpercent,andthirty-sixpercent,respectively.Perhapsmostdisturbingofall,thereportemphasisesthehighlevelsofunderemploymentamongthepart-timeworkersinthisgroup.Aroundtwo-thirdsofteenagersandalmosthalfoftheyoungadultsinpart-timeemploymentandfull-timestudyprefermorehoursofwork.

Therearegoodreasonswhysomeyoungpeoplechoosenottoworkorstudy–childcare, ill-health,disability,or simplyoptingto takeayearout–soweshouldn’tautomaticallyassumethatalackofinvolvementinformaleducationorpaidemploymentisnecessarilyasignofinactivityorthatweaknessinthelabourmarketisthemaincauseofinactivity.Indeed,theAustralianBureauofStatistics,initsSeptember2005supplementtotheLabour Force Survey,classifiedas‘discour-agedjobseekers’veryfew–lessthan8,000–ofthealmost1.3millionpeopleundertheageoftwenty-fourwhoareoutsidethelabourforce.

How Young People Are Faringreliesoncross-sectiondata,whichonlytellusabouttheactivityofpeopleatasinglepointintime.Morerevealingwouldbe

informationthatenabledustotrackindividualsovertime,suchasthedatafromtheLongitudinalSurveyofAustralianYouth.GaryMarksfromtheAustralianCouncilforEducationalResearchhasanalysedthesedataandfoundrelativelyhighratesofmovementfrompart-timetofull-timeemploymentamongyoungpeople,whichsuggeststhatunderemploymentappearstobeatemporaryphenomenonforthevastmajorityofyoungpeople.Evenunemploymentmaynotbeaseriousproblemif it’srelativelyshort-lived,andall indicatorsarethat long-termunemployment–thatis, lastingmorethanoneyear–isbothdecliningandaffectsarelativelysmallproportionofthelabourforceatjustunderonepercent.

Policymakersshouldrightlybeconcernedwithensuringthatyoungpeoplearenottrappedinacycleofintermittentpart-timejobsthatareoflittlevalueinenhancinglong-termprospectsinthelabourmarket,butit’sequallyimportantthatweidentifyexactlywhoarethepeoplemostatriskofthis.

Finally,anoteofcautioniswarrantedabouttheimplicitassumptionthatfull-timeeducationisalwaysbeneficial.TheworkbyGaryMarksreferredtoearlier,forexample,suggeststhatmanygraduatesofourTAFEsystemarenotfaringpar-ticularlywell.Marksconcludesthatlessemphasisshouldbeplacedonvocationaleducationasasolutiontoproblemsintheschool-to-worktransition.MyviewisthattheTAFEsystemneedstobeoverhauledwithaviewtoensuringitcanbettermeettheneedsofprospectivestudentsandemployers.

How Young People are Faring 2006, a report from the dusseldorp skills Forum, indicates that many young people continue to fare relatively poorly in the labour market, but the news isn’t all bad, writes mark wooden.

Professional teachers

Mark Wooden is Associate Professor and Deputy Director of the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research at the University of Melbourne.

For the full report How Young People are Faring 2006, or HYPAF At a Glance, visit www.dsf.org.au


feaTure

eVeNadecadeago,itwouldhavebeenunusualforschoolleaderstohavelisted‘riskmanager’asoneofthedominantcomponentsoftheirmulti-facetedrole;now,riskanditsmanagementareseenasintegralpartsofaprincipal’sprofessionalrepertoire,sincenowthecommonplaceactivitiesofschoolingareseenasriskstobemanaged.Schoolsandschoolleadershavealwaysbeenheldaccountable,butthenatureandscopeofcontemporaryaccountabilityandauditregimeshaveesca-latedinrecentyearstoapointwheretheproportionofaprincipal’stimespentonaddressingaccountabilityrequirements,thewaytheserequirementsimpingeontheirfreedomtomakechoicesaboutthelearningenvironmentoftheschool,andthedeleteriouseffectontrustinrelationships,arecauseforgreatconcern.What’sneededisarobust,flexibleandsystematicapproachtoriskmanagementbuiltoninformedtrustinhumanjudgementtoenableschoolleaderstomanageriskinawaythatfostersadynamiclearningenvironment.

do more standards, regulations, compliance mechanisms and audits

reduce risks and lead to safer, and better,

schools?

not necessarily, says lee-anne Perry.


feaTure

evolvIng unDersTanDIngs of rIsKRiskhasalwaysbeenwithus,butitsmeaninghasevolvedovertime,ashaveourresponsestorisk.‘Risk’derivesfromthePortugueseverbrisco,‘todare,’reflect-ingtheadventurousexploitsofsixteenth-centuryexplorerssettingouttodiscovernewworlds,newopportunitiesandnewriches.Inthispositivemeaning,riskwasoutward-looking,future-focusedandenterprising–therisktakersoughtnewandbetterthingsbytakingadvantageofthecircumstancespresentedinnature.

Thatmeaninghas,inourcontemporaryunderstanding,largelybeendisplacedbyanegativeconcept,whereriskisaboutdangerandwhatcouldbelost,ratherthanwhat,throughdaring,couldbegained,asMaryDouglasarguesinher1990article,‘Riskasaforensicresource.’Theseedsofthisshiftcanbefoundinrisk’searlyassociationwiththeinsurancebusinessandgambling,andwiththeiraccom-panyingtechnologiesofmeasurementdirectedatuncertaintyandtheprobabilities

Daring to trust

beyond risk minimisation

in schools

What’s the risk?

Risk and its

management are now

integral parts of a

school principal’s role.

Standards, regulations,

compliance mechanisms

and audits have created

a flawed model of risk

management which has

pushed trust in human

judgement from the

centre to the margins.

Effective risk

management

involves identifying,

understanding and

learning from both

error and the absence

of error to build an

informed culture.

� australian college of educators • acer

feaTure

oflossesandgains,aswriterslikeDouglas,PeterBernsteinandAnthonyGiddenshaveshown.Increasinglysophisticatedcomputertechnologieshavemeantthatrecord-keeping,data-processingandanalysisnowreachintojustabouteveryaspectof life,sothatrisk–orrisk-as-loss,simpleandcalculable,tobeminimisedoravoided–isnowattheheartofwhathasbecomea‘risksociety.’

Whileriskhasbecomecentral,it’snowalsofocusedmoreonwhatpeopledo,ordon’tdo,ratherthanonthenaturalworld.Theresult?Theefforttodayistoelimi-natetheuncertaintiesinpredictinghumanbehaviourandmakethesebehavioursmoretransparentinordertoenableregimesofinspection.Trustintheindividualhasincreasinglygivenwaytomonitoringandoversight.Riskassociatedwithhumanactivity,andthepotentialdangersandlossesitpresents,mustnowbeidentified,quantifiedandmanaged.Indeed,riskhasemergedasakeyorganisingconceptinthecreationofthemostdominantformofaccountabilityinourmodernglobalsocietycharacterised,inMichaelApple’swords,by‘vigilance,surveillance,“performanceappraisal”and...formsofcontrolgenerally.’(14)That’sledtoaconstantdemandfor‘evidence’inordertoshowthatorganisationsandindividualsareactingsuchthattheyarerisk-minimised.Forschools,thisisparticularlyapparentintheever-burgeoningarrayofpoliciesandprotocolstodowithchildprotection.

managIng rIsK anD elImInaTIng JuDgemenTTheseeminglyendlessproductionandimpositionofstandards,regulationsandothercompliancemechanismshascreatedasocietyof‘auditees’anxiouslyprepar-ingforauditsandinspectionsinaclimatecharacterisedbyleaguetablesandotherformsofpublicreportingwhichblameandpunishwhilepurportingtoshowtherelativeefficiency,or inefficiency,of institutions.Inschools,claimsaboutthecapacitytoensurestudentsafetyandwellbeing,tominimiseinefficientuseofoftenscarceresourcesandtomaximiseproductivityintermsofstudentlearningcanbetranslatedintoquiteprecisequantitativemeasuresthatcanbetrackedovertimeandreportedinasuccinctform.Aschool,essentially,becomes‘calculable’asariskorganisation.Indeed,riskandriskmanagementinschoolshavenowbeen‘renderednormal,’asJudithBessant,RichardHilandRobWattsputitinDiscovering Risk.Consequently,asRichardEricsonandKevinHaggertyargue,thedailyworknotonlyofschoolleadersbutofteachersandotherstaffhashadtochangebybecoming‘pluggedinto’aninstitutionalcommunicationsystembuiltaroundthesenewaccountabilities.

Whilethishasengenderedrisk-consciousnessaspartofthe‘natural’pedagogicpracticesofprincipals inschools,thenegativelogicofriskhasshapedaflawedmodelofriskmanagementwhichhaspushedtrustinhumanjudgementfromthecentretothemargins.Therearefourwaysinwhichthishascomeabout.

The culture of expertiseRiskmanagementisincreasinglyseenasaspecial-istdomainpeopledbyriskmanagement‘expert’consultantstoschools.Acultureof‘expertise’hasbeenpromotedthathashadtheeffect,asKennethThompsonarguesinhis1998book,Moral Panics,oftaking‘thedefinitionandcontrolofriskawayfromordinarypeople.’(30)Atthesametimetherisk-managemententer-prisehasgrownlargerasaresultofaregulatoryframeworkthat’s informationintensiveandknowledgegenerating,asHenryRothsteinandcolleaguesargue.Professional ‘experts’haveavestedinterestinmaintainingandexpandingthesystemsofaccountability,andincreatingadependencyandindeedvulnerabil-itywithinotherprofessionalgroups,likeschoolprincipals,whofeelthemselvesincreasinglyvulnerablewithintherisksociety.AsFrankFurediputsit,‘Managerswhoareafraidtomaketheirowndecisionshirehigh-pricedconsultantstoreaffirm

The seemingly endless

production and

imposition of standards,

regulations and other

compliance mechanisms

has created a society

of ‘auditees’ anxiously

preparing for audits

and inspections in a

climate characterised

by league tables.

theobvious:Itisgenerallysafertoadoptsomeoneelse’sbestpracticethantoengi-neeryourown..,yetforcompaniestothrive,employeesneedtofeelasthoughtheyareonanopen-endedjourneyofdiscovery,ofwhichunpredictabilityisakeypart.’(22)Asaresult,heargues,organisationsbecome‘dumbeddown,’andrisklosingthecapacitytotakethesortofconceptualleapsthatenterprising,andeducational,activityrequires.

The employment of technical knowledgeThegrowingrelianceonexter-nalexpertsandonthequantificationofriskhasalsogeneratedabeliefthatriskmanagementdecisionsarecredibleonlyiftheydependontechnicalknowledgederivedbytheuseof‘numericalandcalculativerationales,’whicharethenusedto‘augmentthelegitimacyofdecision-making,irrespectiveoftheirmethodologicallegitimacy,’asRothsteinandcolleaguespointout.(97)Thistechnicalknowledgedrawsondataaboutthepast,becauseit’savailable,buttheeffectisthatcontext-rich,case-by-casejudgementisdisplacedbycontext-poordecisionrules.Whenriskmanagementisbasedonsystemsprimarilyusinghistoricdataittendstobereac-tionaryanddefensiveratherthaninnovativeandvisionary,andtendstobecomeself-reinforcing.Becausedataiscontinuallygeneratedthatmustbe‘riskassessedandmanaged,’asRothsteinandcolleaguesreason,systemsbecome‘asolutioninsearchofriskproblems.’(95)

The cataloguing of risksOstensiblythepurposeofriskmanagementistoimproveorganisationalpractices,butit’softenthecasethatriskmanagementamountsmerelytothenamingofproblems,issuesoractivitiesas‘risks.’

shifting responsibilityNewrisk-managementstrategiessuchas,say,com-munitynotificationprovisions,canshiftordiffuseresponsibility,particularlybyreplacinghumanjudgementwithinflexibleregulation.

Despitetheproblemsinherentinmanyriskmanagementsystems,accordingtoRothsteinandcolleagues,thesesystemsarestillseenasawaytorespondtothedemandsbothofthosewhogovernandthosewhoaregovernedforprocesseswhichareseentobeobjective,rational,consistent,structuredanddefensible.Bethatasitmay,riskmanagementsystemsarereally,asMichaelPowersonicelyputitinhis1994book,The Audit Explosion,about‘thecontrolofcontrol,wherewhatisbeingassuredisthequalityofthecontrolsystemsratherthenthequalityofthefirstorderoperations.’(19)Lookedatthisway,regulatoryframeworksareobjectsofriskinthesamewaythatriskhasbecomeanobjectofregulationandcanbeheldtoaccountfortheirownlimitations,asRothsteinandhiscolleaguespointout.Riskmanagementbasedonsuchsystemsofcontrol,however,haslittletoofferschoolsaslearningorganisationsandisactuallyagreaterrisktoschoolsbecauseiteliminatesjudgementandreducestrustinjudgements.

The ImPorTance of TrusTHowisitthatriskmanagementthatreliesonexpertsusingtechnicalknowledgehaserodedtrust?Trusthasbeenerodedbythecultureofsuspicionreflectedintheimpositionofmultiplelayersofcompliancemechanismsoninstitutionssuchasschools.SusanGroundwater-SmithandJudythSachsgofurther:‘thegreaterthegovernancebyrules,’theysay,‘thelessthepracticeoftrust.Theseareexactlytheconditionsoftheauditsociety.’(345)Trust,however,iscriticaltoamodelofriskthatavoidsthe‘straight-jacketing’effectsofoverdoingaudit.

Trustisacomplexconceptwhichhasbeenexploredinarangeofdisciplines.Whiletherearemanydifferentdefinitionssomecommonthreadsemerge,asTKDasandBing-ShengTengidentifiedintheirextensive2004reviewofthelitera-ture.Generally,trusthasbothcognitiveelementsbasedonrational,instrumental

professional educator • vol 6, no. 1 • march 2007 �

feaTure


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judgementsandaffectiveelementsgroundedinrelationships.Thesecognitiveandaffectiveelementsarevariouslyexpressedascompetenceandcare,abilityanddependability,competenceandgoodwill,orabilityandintentions.Apersonseek-ingtrustislookingontheonehandforevidenceofcompetencesuchasatrackrecord,qualityassuranceprocedures,transparencyandawillingnesstoadmiterrors,andontheotherhandasenseofcarethroughthedemonstrationofrespect,responsivenessandauser-friendlyservice.

Riskmanagementincorporatingtrustbuildsonthecompetenceandcareofthetrustee.Theprevailingdominantmanagerialistformsofaccountability,however,involvetheimpositionofregulations,standardsandtargetsindicativeofsuspicionandcontrol.Moreover,managerialistimperativesprivilegemeasurementandcalculation,ratherthanaffectiveelements.Theconsequencesforschoolshavebeensignificant.

Patternsof relationships suchas thosebetweenparentsandschoolsarecurrentlybeingchallengedandchanged.Parentshavetraditionallyplacedtheirtrustinindividualteachersandprincipalsinaschoolinthecontextofpersonal,face-to-facerelationshipsandconfidenceintheirabilitytomakesoundjudge-mentsbasedonprofessionalexpertise.Complexexpertsystemssuchasschool

leadershipandteachingaredependentonthis trustbecause,asHaridimosTsoukasexplainedin1997,thepracticesintegraltothesesystems‘cannotbemade fully transparent simplybecause there isnosubstitute for thekindofexperientialand implicitknowledgecrucial toexpertise,andwhich involvestrustof thepractitioners.’ (835)Extensivemediacoverageof inappropriateconductbyasmallnumberofteachers,ofclaimsthatstudentslackbasiclit-eracy,numeracyandotherwork-readinessskills,andofpoorperformancebysomeschoolsonthenarrowperformanceindicatorsthatcomprisemany‘leaguetables’havecontributedtothegrowthof ‘moralpanics’aboutschoolingandeducationthatpromptgovernments,alwayswithacloseeyeonpublicsenti-mentaboutthestrengthoftheirclaimtogoodgovernance,toseektighterandtightercontrols.Theeffect?Trusthasgivenwaytomistrust;parental trustin the judgementofeducationprofessionalshasbeensupplantedbyrelianceongovernment-sanctionedmeasuresofqualityandsuccess. Indeed,SharonGewirtzhasarguedthatthismovementhasbeensopervasiveastoresult inthesubjugationofschoolprofessionalswhonow‘havetoliveintheshadowofconstantsurveillance.’(361)It’snotsurprisingthatsuchasituationencouragesrisk-aversebehaviourandrisk-minimisationstrategieswithinbothindividualsandorganisations.Innovation,experimentationanddaringarehardlylikelytobeafeatureoftheeducationallandscapewhenpeopleactivelyavoidanyideaoractivitywhichmightbeseenasrisky.

Twoofthekeyelementsofprofessionalismaretrustandahighdegreeofself-controloveractivities,thatis,thefreedomtomakeandactonjudgements.Beyondthat,asAndreasHoechtexplainsinhis2006articleonqualityassuranceinhighereducationintheUnitedKingdom,aprofessionneedstoestablish‘acontrollinginfluenceoverthenatureandprovisionofitsknowledgeandhavetheabilitytogaintrustandrespectinsocietyfortheroleitplaysinit.’(546)Arguably,professionalsineducationalinstitutionssuchasschoolsanduniversi-tiesarelosingcontroloverthenatureoftheirknowledgeandpurposeastheseareincreasinglyshapedbyexternallyimposedaccountabilityregimes.Hoechtfurthercontendsthat theresponseofmanyuniversitiesandschools,andtheprofessionalswithinthem,hasbeenpassiveandaccommodating.Reportsareproduced,targetsaremetorresetonce‘failure’isadmitted,curriculumchanges

Innovation,

experimentation and

daring are hardly likely

to be a feature of the

educational landscape

when people actively

avoid any idea or

activity which might be

seen as risky.


feaTure

aremade,protocolsimplemented,irrespectiveofthecompromisingeffectthesemayhaveonothergoalsoftheorganisation.

Trust,Hoechtargues,encouragesrisk-takingunderpinnedbypositiveexpecta-tionsofthecompetenceandcareofthosebeingtrusted.Trustinandwithinschoolsystemshasbeencompromised,however,notonlybytheescalationofinstrumentalformsofaccountabilitybutbytheresultingcommodificationofschoolingwhichlimitstheopportunityfortheprofessionalswithinschoolstoexercisejudgement.Curriculumdecisionsandpedagogicalpracticeshavebecomevaluedonly fortheircontributiontoproductivityasmeasuredbyinstrumentslikeleaguetables.Educatorshaveturnedintoserviceprovidersrespondingtoconsumers–parentsandstudents–andconcentratingonoutputstotheexclusionofinputs.Intheprocess,thefocusoftheirprofessionalpracticehastransferredfromcreativelyandflexiblyrespondingtoindividualstudentneedstoidentifyingandmeasuringthosefactorsdeemedmostliabletocauseriskeithertotheindividualeducatorortheinstitution,eventhoughtheideaofrenderingallpracticeswithinthecomplexsystemsofleadershipandteachingintocalculable,recordableandtherebyaccount-ableformsis impossible.Becausethat’s impossiblewetendinsteadtowardsthelessdifficultmeansofdescriptionofpractice.Forexample,whileattendanceat

professionaldevelopmentactivitiescanbeeasilycalculated,measuringthelearningandenhancementofactualpedagogicalpracticethatresultsfromsuchattendanceisnot.Staffabsenteeratescanbecalculated,recordedandreported;measuringateacher’swisdom,enthusiasmandresponsivenesstoindividualneedsismuchmoredifficult.Whatweendupwithisarelianceonatomisticandsuperficialmeasureswherewhatismeasuredbecomeswhatisvalued–givingthemostprominencetothemosteasilymeasuredriskfactors.

Accountabilitymeasuresare,then,bothacauseandaconsequenceofalackoftrust.Whilegivingtheimpressionofprovidingtransparencyandinformation,suchmeasuresconcealmanyofthedimensionsofschoolingsuchascharacterfor-mation,adaptabilityandenterprisethatdominateschoolplans,missionstatementsandmuchofgovernmentpolicyoneducation.Theydolittletofosterinnovationandlearningandsignificantlyerodetheintrinsicmotivationandresponsivenessofprofessionaleducatorswhofeelblamedratherthantrusted.

an eDucaTIve aPProach To rIsK managemenTJamesReason’sworkonerrorcausationprovidescompellingevidenceforthekeyrolethattrustinhumanjudgementplaysindevelopingasafetycultureinorganisationsandindevelopinganeducativeapproachtoriskmanagementthathasmuchtoofferlearningorganisationssuchasschools.Hisarticle,‘Safetypara-doxesandsafetyculture,’explainswhyasafeculturerequiresthedevelopmentofanumberofinterdependentsubculturesincludinganinformedandreportingculture,aflexiblecultureandalearningculture.(12)Let’slookattheseinabitmoredetailandconsidertheir implicationsforaneducativeapproachtoriskmanagementinschools.

An informed and reporting cultureInhis2000article,‘Safetyparadoxesandsafetyculture,’Reasonidentifiestheimportanceofdataininformingthepracticesoforganisations,particularlypracticesatthemargins,toidentifyandunderstandboththepositiveandthenegativefaceofsafety.Organisationsneedtoidentifyandunderstandnotonlywhathasgonewrongbutalsowhathasworkedwell.Asafeculture,inReason’sview,isonewherepeopleknowwherethe‘edge’is,between‘relativesafetyandunacceptabledanger.’(3)Thisedgeisariskyplaceintermsofbothdaringanddanger,wherethegreatestgainsandthegreatest

Organisations need to

identify and understand

not only what has gone

wrong but also what

has worked well. A safe

culture is one where

people know where

the ‘edge’ is, between

‘relative safety and

unacceptable danger.’


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lossescanbemade.Understandingwheretheedgeliesisimportantinaschoolcontext.Noschoolleaderwishestofallovertheedgeintounacceptabledangerslikeendemicpoorperformance,anunsafeenvironmentoralowreputationwithinandoutsidetheschool.Understandingtheedgeisalsocriticaltoschoolleaderswishingtofosteradynamiclearningclimateintheirschoolratherthansimplyadoptingamaintenanceapproachtoschoolplanninganddevelopment.Identifyingandunderstandingtheedgeinvolvesgoingbeyondtheacquisitionandanalysisofhistoricdataandthecollationofmeasurementsrequiredbynarrow,instru-mentalauditmechanisms.It involvesthesystematiccollectionandanalysisofdataonbothsuccessesanddisappointmentsorfailures.Toooften,organisationsdevoteconsiderabletimeandattentiontowhatisworkingwell.Moreoverthereisatendencyfororganisationsdeemedsuccessful,suchasthoseatthetopoftheleaguetables,tobeviewedashavingnoweaknesses,tobeerror-free.Reason’sworksuggeststhatthisisunlikelytobeso.Studiesinarangeoforganisationsrevealthateventhemostresistantorganisationswithhighlydevelopedsafetyprocessescananddohaveaccidents.(5)Simplybaskingintheglowofsuccessfuloutcomescanpromotecomplacency.InReason’sstudies,successfulorganisations–whathecallshigh-reliabilityorganisations–encouragethereportingofmistakesandless-than-satisfactoryoutcomes,andtakeanabsenceoferrorascauseforincreasedvigilanceandattention.Effectiveriskmanagement,then,involvesidentifying,understandingandlearningfrombotherrorandtheabsenceoferrortobuildaninformedculture.

A flexible culture Allorganisationshave,orshouldhave,layersofdefencestoprotectthemfromdamage–intheformoferrors,failuresorpooroutcomes–andtoprovideasoundfoundationonwhichtopursuetheirstrategicgoals.Reasonhasfoundthatorganisationaldefencesare,paradoxically,frequentlyinstrumentalinaccidents,errorsandpooroutcomes.Thisisbecauseorganisationaldefencesdependoncontrol,aimedatminimisingvariabilityinhumanbehaviour,andbecausetheelementsoforganisationaldefencesthatarerevealedandconcealedarenotalwaysclear.Reasonarguesthatwhilecontrolsintheformofstandardoperatingprocedures,protocolsandregulationsareclearlyessential,suchcontrols

relyonhistoricdatatoinformfuturegeneralisedpracticeandassucharenotalwayswellsuitedtodealingwithlocalconditionsandvariations.Rule-basedcontrolsworkwellinmanysituationsbutlocalvariationsmaymaketheminapplicableor,whenasituationhasneverbeenanticipatedorwasbelievedtobeinconceivable,irrelevant.Whenrule-basedcontrolsareinapplicableorirrelevantthey’reasourceofotherrisks.

Defencescanalsobecompromisedwhentheygetbiggerandmorecom-plex.Defencesinclude‘hard’defenceslikealarms,otherautomatedsafetydevicesanddesignfeatures,and‘soft’defenceslikeprocedures,rules,trainingandothermeasurespredominantlyreliantonpeopleandpaper.Thesedefencescanenhancethesafetyoftheorganisationbuttheycanalsocompromisesafepracticewhenpractitionersbecomeoverwhelmedbythenumberandscopeofdefences,andgapsappearinimplementation.Onoccasions,certaindefences,suchasmultiplecom-puterbackupmechanisms,allowfailuresorerrorstogounnoticed.Thisprocesscanconcealtheaccretionoferrorovertimeandcreateholesintheorganisation’sdefensivelayers.

Thesekindsofproblemspromptmanyorganisationstotrytoreduceoreveneliminatevariabilityinhumanbehaviour–becausehumanvariabilityisalliedinthemindsofmanywithhumanunreliability.Becausevariability,however,meanspeoplecanrespondtotheunknownandtheunexpected,organisationswouldbe

Many educators feel

overwhelmed and

compromise their own

professionalism by

passively complying

with accountability

requirements.


feaTure

betteroffdevelopingacapacitytomakesenseofthisvariationbasedonasharedunderstandingofthevalues,missionandgoalsoftheorganisation,inotherwords,toenhancehumanjudgementtobuildaflexibleculture,althoughonethatisstillcriticallydependentontheconcurrentdevelopmentofaninformedculture.

Inmostorganisations,majorcatastrophesorerrorsare,fortunately,relativelyrare.Thedatathathelpstodevelopaninformedculture,therefore,mustcomefromboththesuccessesandthesmallerandusuallymorefrequenterrorsordisap-pointingoutcomes.

A learning culture Akeyelementingeneratinganinformedandreport-ingcultureisthetypeofapproachusedbyanorganisationindetermining,andrespondingto,errorcausation.Mostorganisationsfocusonthemistakes,pro-cedurallapsesorincompetenciesofpeopleatthe‘pointyend’–thoseindirectcontactwiththeindividualsaffected–creatinganenvironmentofblameratherthanthetrustwhichisafundamentalconditionofareportingculture.Notonlyistrusteroded,theapproachismisdirected.Typically,ever-moredetailedpoli-cies,proceduralmanuals,protocolsandassessmentframeworksevolve,‘experts’areappointedtoinvestigateandformulateappropriateresponses,trustisfurthererodedandtheopportunitiesfortheorganisationitselftolearnfromtheerrorarelost.Ofcourse,someerrorsarecausedbyindividual‘blameworthy’actionswhichmustbeappropriatelysanctioned,buttheprimaryfocusshouldbeontheinforma-tionthatcanbegainedthroughanongoingprocessofreportingthatenablesanorganisationtolearnfromitsmistakes.

Focusingonanindividualalsofailstorecognisetheunderlyingfactorsthataresignificantcontributorstoanadverseoutcome.Reasonarguesthatsuchfactorsarerarelyisolatedorrandombut,rather,areusuallypartofarecurrentpatternorlinkedtootherinstancesofsystemicerrorcausednotbytheactivefailuresofindi-vidualsbutbysystemiclatentconditions–whathecallsinHuman Error‘residentpathogens.’Latentconditionsincludetimepressures,understaffing,unworkableprocedures,inexperience,lackofprofessionaldevelopmentandpoorsupervision.Inschools,theycanalsoincludesuchthingsaspolicyimperativeswhichdirectactivitytowardsparticularendslikehigh-stakestestingratherthanthedevelop-

mentofcriticalthinking,problemsolvingorindependentlearning.Whenanorganisationtakesasystemicapproach,it’sabletolookatmanylayersincludingtheindividual,thegroup,thetask,thetarget,theorganisationitself,andinternalandexternalpolicyimperatives.Withinareportingculturebuiltontrust,asys-temicapproachallowstheorganisationtobuildalearningcultureinwhichhumanjudgementissupportedandharnessedtotheadvantageoftheorganisation.

Currentapproachestoriskmanagementinmostorganisationsarebasedonsimplyminimisingriskandrespondingunreflexivelytotightlyspecified,decontex-tualisedprotocols,policies,benchmarksandtargets.Thereactionarynatureoftheseresponsesderive,inpartatleast,fromthepressuresofanauditsocietywhereorgani-sationsandindividualsfeelcalledtoaccountaccordingtotheprescriptionslaiddownbyexternalagenciessuchasgovernments.Thisaudit-centredformofaccountability,withever-burgeoningcontrols,limitstheautonomyandreducesthecapacityofpro-fessionalstoprovideflexibleandadaptiveresponsestoparticularcircumstances.Theresult?Manyprofessionaleducatorsfeeloverwhelmedbytheescalatingpressuresofsystemiccontrolsandcompromisetheirownprofessionalismbypassivelycomplyingwithaccountabilityrequirements.Schoolsneedtoengagewithriskmanagementandaccountabilitybydevelopinganinformedandreportingculture,aflexiblecultureandalearningculture.Whentheydo,notonlywilltheybesafer,they’llalsohaveagreatercapacitytorespondtoopportunitiestodareandtogrow.

Ask yourself

• Does an audit-centred

form of accountability

in your educational

institution restrict

your educational

objectives, programs

or practices?

• Do procedures exist

in your educational

institution to identify

and understand not

only what has gone

wrong but also what

has worked well?

• Does risk

management in your

educational institution

rely on rule-based

controls and do these

controls prevent or

allow for human

judgement?

Lee-Anne Perry is the principal of All Hallows’ School, Brisbane.

For references go to www.acer. edu.au/professionaleducator/ references.html

TeachIng anD learnIng

between a rock and a hard placeIndigenous education in a remote community


on almost every measure, the quality of life for aboriginal people is far below that of more recent arrivals, yet a great deal of action to redress this is taking place, especially in the remote areas of central and northern australia. Ted myers went to the Kimberley to experience first-hand the challenges of educating indigenous people in the remote community of Wirrimanu.

professional educator • vol 6, no. 1 • march 2007 1�


At a glance • Luurnpa Catholic School

serves the Wirrimanu community – population 489 – in the southeast Kimberley region of Western Australia. The nearest town – Halls Creek: population 1,300 – is 285 kilometres away.

• Summers reach forty-five degrees, winters drop to a chilly five degrees; average rainfall is just 300 millimetres.

• Locals crowd together in just twenty-two houses – unless they want to use one of eighteen houses already condemned, or sleep rough.

• Unemployment, boredom, substance abuse and domestic violence are major problems.

• Stability in personnel and a stable curriculum at Luurnpa is providing students with something that goes beyond the short term.

• Overall attendance is at sixty-seven per cent.

• Improvements in the acoustics in every classroom are tackling conductive hearing loss – a major problem for Aboriginal children.

• Luurnpa could send up to twelve students to Broome for Year Twelve but the boarding hostel only has nineteen places for students in the Catholic system for the region as a whole.

WirriMANuisaboutasremoteasyoucanget.Atinycommunitybuiltontheredpindansoilandsurroundedbyendlessspinifexplainspunctuatedbytermitemounds,ithousesslightlylessthan500people.LocatedinthesoutheastKimberleyregionofWesternAustralia,it’sontheedgeoftwovastdeserts–theGreatSandyandtheTanami.Thenearesttown,HallsCreek,is285kilometrestothenorthwestalongthedusty,corrugatedTanamitrack.

TheWirrimanucommunitysite,originallycalledBalgoHillsbackwhenthesettlementwasestablishedintheearly1930sasaCatholicMission,ispartofthe2.6millionhectareBalwinaAboriginalreserve,homefortheKukatja,theWalmajarriandtheJarupeoples.

From1965to1983,theEducationDepartmentofWAranaprimaryschoolinthesettlement,butthecommunityelders,whorespectedthelegacyoftheformermissionaries,wantedtoestablishaCatholicschool.In1982theDeLaSallebroth-ersandtheSistersofMercyagreedtotaketheschoolover–andLuurnpaCatholicSchoolwasborn.

Luurnpa’sPrincipal,BrBernardCooper,saystheCatholicEducationOffice(CEO)inPerthandtheEducationDepartmentofWAhelpedinthedevelopmentoftheschool.‘ThereweremanyrequestsfromAboriginalremotecommunitiesfortheestablishmentofnewschoolsastheoutstationmovementprogressedandpeoplestartedmovingbackontotheirland,’Cooperpointsout.Wirrimanuwasoneofthefirst.OtherswereestablishedthroughouttheKimberleyregion.

LuurnpaCatholicSchooleducatesaround100studentsfromPre-primarytoYearTen.ItsbilingualfocusishelpedgreatlybythepresenceofAboriginalTeachingAssistants.

Coopertookoverin1999afteraseventeen-yeartenurebyfoundationprinci-pal,BrLeoScollen.‘Whenthevacancyoccurredin1999,Idecidedtotakeiton,’hesays.‘IfeltIcoulddomoregoodherethansofteroptionsdownsouth.’

challenges for InDIgenous PeoPle In remoTe communITIesAfterworkingfornearlythirtyyearsasaDeLaSallebrotherinschoolsinfourAustralianstatesandthehighlandsofPapuaNewGuinea,Cooperknewthenew

positionwouldfurtherchallengehisviewoftheworld.RemotecommunitiesinoutbackAustralia,hesays,havechallengeslikenootherplacehehasexperiencedandeveryonelivingtherehasmuchtocontendwith–andmuchtolearn.

‘TheAboriginesarenofools,’hesays.‘Theyareplaguedbydisadvantageandtheirparticularcircumstances–codeforgovernmentpolicyandatragichistoryofdispossessionandgenocide–thathaveeffectivelycapturedthem.

‘Balgo is reallyadetentioncentrewithout thebarbedwire–because thepeopleheredon’thavechoices.Theyareseverelylimitedinwhattheycandointhecommunityandtheycan’tmove.Mostarestuckherewhethertheywanttomoveornot.’

Fundingforessentialservices–fromthecommunitystoretorubbishcollec-tion,seweragetoawatersupply–isalwaysaproblem.

ThewayCooperseesit,thegovernmentplaysa‘divideandconquer’game.There’sneverenoughfunding,hesays,andwhateverfundingthereisseemstobeprovidedonanadhocbasis,withconstantlychangingpoliciesandprogramswhittlingawayatanalreadyinadequatebase.

Thereis,hesays,noviablesocialcontractforcingthegovernmenttoprovidenecessitiessuchashealth.‘Thesystemisbasedonanunequaltreaty.Thelandownershipissuehasnotbeenfinallysettledhereandthingsaresimplygettingworse.’



Electricityisamajorcost–andbecomingincreasinglyexpensive.‘Thiscom-munityclosesdownwithoutelectricitytopumpwateroutoftheartesianbasin,’Cooperpointsout.‘It’sgeneratedbydieselaroundtheclockandthebillsarehuge.’Air-conditioningtheKindergartenclassroomsucksout100kilowattsperhour,thecostofwhichissubsidisedbytheCEO.

‘It’simperativethattheagenciesworktogetherfortheschoolandothercom-munityfunctionstoperformattheiroptimumlevel,’hesays.

‘Atthelastcensus,Balgohad489people.InSydney,basedonanaverageofthreepersonsperhouse,theywouldlivein163dwellings.Here,there’satotaloffortyhouses,ofwhicheighteenarecondemnedandfourneedknockingdown.Overcrowdingisamajorissuewhichhasadirectnegativeimpactonchildren’slearning.’

UnemploymentlevelsareincrediblyhighinmostremoteIndigenouscommu-nitiesandBalgoisnoexception.Artisthebiggestemployerinthecommunity,butnearlyeveryoneisunemployed,withfamiliesexistingondiminishingCommunityDevelopmentEmploymentProgram(CDEP)paymentsandothersocialservices.Theresultofthisaptlynamed‘sitdownmoney’?Boredom.

It’sthewomenwhotendtoholdfamiliestogetherandmanyearnalittlemoneyproducingtraditionalart,whileunemploymentisparticularlyaproblemformen–ofallages.‘Howdoyoumaintaindignitywhenyoudon’thaveajob?’asks

‘Balgo is really a

detention centre without

the barbed wire

– because the people

here don’t have choices.’

br bernard cooper



Cooper.‘Whathappenstoyouridentitywhenyounolongerperformameaning-fulrole?Self-esteemfallsthroughthefloor.Howdoyoudealwithfailurethatisconstantlyinyourface?Thisiswhysubstanceabuseofalcohol,drugsandpetrol,thecheapestoption,isrife.Thisalsoleadstohighlevelsofdomesticviolence,withthewomenthevictimsofabusive,druggedordrunkmen.’

Howdoestheschooloperateinthisenvironment?‘Successfuloutcomes,’hesayswithremarkableunderstatement,‘arehardtoachieve.’

eDucaTIonal challengesBrRickGaffneyhasbeentheLiteracyCoordinatoratLuurnpaCatholicSchoolforthepasttwoyearswhileworkingtowardsaPhDlookingathowEnglishoperatesasthelanguageoflearninginsituationswherestudentsspeaktheirnativetongueathomeandintheplayground–whichisjustwhathappensintheBalgocom-munitywherestudentsspeakmainlyKakatjaathomeandamongstthemselves,withEnglishincreasinglyprevalentintheclassrooms.

Gaffneybelievesthateducation,asit’spractisedinremoteareas,hastochangedramatically. ‘What’sdoneinremoteschoolsisverysimilartowhatyou’dseehappeninginBroomeorotherurbancentres,’hesays,‘andthatcan’tbetherightwaybecausetheclassroomissuchaforeignenvironmentforIndigenouskids.Tobewithinfourwallsinasimilaragegroupissuchanunusualthingforthem.Theamountoftimetheyspendinsidefourwallsoutsidetheclassroom,otherthansleeping,whichisalsooftenoutside,isminimal.

‘Educationinaclassroomissodifferentandforeigntothem–andchalleng-ing.Thebottomlineisthatyouhavetobeabletositinyourseatanddowhattheteachersays.Nowthat’sdifficultforallstudents,evenofEuropeanbackground,butforthesekidshereit’samuchgreaterchallenge.Andthenthelayerontopofthatisthattheyarelearninginalanguagethatisnottheirown,andontopofthattheyarebeingtaughtbypeoplewhoarenotoftheirownculture.Theremustbeabetterwaytodoit.Ithinkwearedoinggreatworkhere,buttherehastobeafundamentalchange.’

ouTcomes: ImProvIng slowly ‘We’renotdoingbrilliantly,’saysCooper,‘butweareturningthingsaroundslowly.’

stability and routineWithonlytwoprincipalsintwenty-fouryearsandthecon-tinuouspresenceoftheDeLaSallebrothers,thecommunity’sdesireforstabilityhasbeenachievedandthat,Cooperemphasises,hasbeenessential.

‘Firstofall,peoplehavetostayherelongenoughtodevelopmorethansuperfi-cialrelationships.TeachersneedaninductionprogramsotheycanunderstandandconnectwithAboriginalculture.AboriginesarebitliketheJapanese.They’llsmileandsay“yes”toanythingtoavoidcausingoffence,whiletheymightbethinking“no.”It’sdifficulttofindoutwhattheymightreallybethinking,’hesays.‘YouneedtosuspendyournormalEuropeanmindsetinthisjob.

‘Ittakestimetobuildpeople’strustinyou.WhenIfirstcamehere,I’dgodowntothecommunitystoreonaSaturdaymorningandsimplysitaroundtalk-ingtopeople.’

StabilityinpersonnelisonethingbutstaffatLuurnpaalsohadtostabilisethecurriculumtoprovidesomethingthatgoesbeyondtheshortterm–andthatrelatestotherealitiesoflifeforthelocalpeople.

‘I’mhappyforsystemsandpolicytooverridetheattractionsofindependentorcreativelearning,’Coopersays.‘Thekidsneedroutine.Theyneedtoknowwhat

‘People have to stay

here long enough to

develop more than

superficial relationships.

Teachers need an

induction program so

they can understand

and connect with

Aboriginal culture.’

br bernard cooper

1� australian college of educators • acer


toexpect.It’safactoflifeherethatteacherswillbecomingandgoing,butatleastthecoursesremainthesame.’

AttendanceErraticattendanceisaproblemformostremoteIndigenousschools.ThestudentsaremostlyengageduntilYearEightandthenthingstendtofallapart–mostdropoutwellbeforeYearTen.‘We’vemanagedtogetattendanceuptosixty-sevenpercentoverall,whichisthehighestever,’Coopersays.‘Wehaveuptoeightypercentintheprimaryyears,butit’smuchloweratthesecondarylevel.Asarule,iftheparentswanttheirchildrentocome,theywill.’

Mental and spiritual health‘Beforeastudentcanlearneffectively,theyneedtofeelgoodaboutthemselves,’Cooperpointsout.‘Webelievethisalsodependstoadegreeonspiritualhealth.WeusetheCEOWAReligiousEducationunits,whichhavebeenadaptedespeciallyfortheKimberleyregion,thatexplorethespecialwaysAboriginesexpresstheirfaith.TheGodthingisnotimaginaryforAborigines.Itformsarealpres-enceintheirlives.Theyareasacramentalpeople,sothecrossoverbetweenAboriginalandCatholicfaithisverysuccessful.It’scomplementaryandthereisnorealconflict.’

improved acoustics‘ConductivehearinglossisamajorproblemforAboriginalchildrenwithuptohalfourstudentsaffected,’explainsCooper.Causedbychronicinfectionsandrunnynoseswhichaffecttheeardrums,conductivehearinglossmeanslearningbecomesextremelydifficultforstudentssincetheydon’thearwhattheteacherissaying.Manywillpretendtheycanhear,whentheycan’t.Onesolu-tion–improvedacousticsineveryclassroom–makesabigdifference.

‘The kids need routine.

It’s a fact of life here

that teachers will be

coming and going,

but at least the courses

remain the same.’

br bernard cooper



Teacher recruitmentAmajorproblem,Coopersays, isfindingstaffwhocanworkeffectivelywiththeAboriginalTeachingAssistantsandstudents.‘Theyarechallengedtogrow,justasIam,onadailybasis.It’sdifficulttothegettherightpeopleandthenkeepthemforanextendedperiod,’hesays.‘We’vebeensuccessfulinobtaininganumberofqualityteacherswhoalsostaythedistance–formorethanafewyears.Iuseeverystrategypossibletogetgoodteachers.MostseemtocomefromVictoria,butI’dlikemoresecondmentsfromWA.’

A pool of Aboriginal Teaching Assistants Luurnpahascultivatedandretainedagoodpooloflocalpeople–mainlywomen–overtheyearstohelpoutintheschool.Afterart,theschoolisthebiggestemployeroflocalpeopleinthecommunity.

National Accelerated Literacy Program‘We’vetakenthisprogramon,’Coopersays.‘It’smakingabigdifference.’

information and communication technologyIfIndigenousstudentsaretokeepupwiththemodernworld,theyneedhelpwithusingmobilephones,internetbank-ing,emailandcomputerskillsgenerally.‘Theinformationandcommunicationtech-

nologyteacherhasthehardestjobintheschool,’Coopersays,‘andisslowlymakingheadway.’Studentsarebeingtrainedtokeeppartoftheschoolwebsiteuptodate.

Vocational education and trainingIfyouwantstudentstowanttocometoschool,Coopersays,theymustseevalueinthecoursesthatwillhelpthemto

‘The failed CDEP system

stops the development

of anything. When

jobs are available,

the pathway is clearer

for people to see a

reason to be involved in

education.’

br bernard cooper



Ted Myers is the Head of Communications for the Sydney

Catholic Education Office.

Photos courtesy Ted Myers.

For further information about Luurnpa Catholic School visit

http://www.luurnpa.wa.edu.au

makemeaningfulchoicesanddevelopindependenceskills,whichhepointsoutissomethingtheircultureencourages.

ThelocalTAFECollegeatHallsCreekhasprovided1,000hoursofvoca-tionaleducationandtrainingforsecondaryclasses.‘It’scrucialthatthisprogramcontinues,’hesays,‘butfundingcutsarealwayshovering.’

ImProvIng ThIngs furTher?Supposehehadunlimitedresourcesandpower,whatwouldCooperdotomakethingsbetterstill?First,hesays,he’dadoptadevelopmentmodelthatlooksatusinggovernmentfundstodeliveremployment–sayinthebuildingindustry.‘There’sashortageofhousing,sowhypaytradesmentocomefromPerthatoutrageouspriceswhenlocalpeoplecoulddoit?

‘WeneedtocreatejobsinthiscommunityandthewaytodothatistogetridofCDEPandrecognisethejobsthatarehere,ashappensinanormaltown.Governmentdepartmentsneedtostartdeliveringthem–beitthewaterauthority,thepowerstation,thehousingtrust.AllthesemechanismsarenormalthingsinHallsCreek,buttheydon’texistouthere.

‘ThefailedCDEPsystemstopsthedevelopmentofanything.Whenjobsareavailable,thepathwayisclearerforpeopletoseeareasontobeinvolvedineducation.

‘ThesecondthingI’ddoistostrengthentheboardinghostelinBroometotakethehighflyers.WithunitsrelatedtolifeintheKimberley,there’sastrongerchancethatstudentswillremainengagedtoYearTwelvelevelandthenontouniversity,TAFEandaccesstoapprenticeship,butunfortunatelythereareonlynineteenplacesforthewholeCatholicsystemthisyear.Wehavefourstrongcandidatesandcouldsendtwelvedownfromthisschoolalone,buttheydon’thavethecapacitytotakethem.WeknowthatifwesendthemtootherboardingschoolsdownsouthinPerth,they’remorelikelytofailandbereturned.Theycanbecomeveryhomesick.

‘Forthosestudentswhostayonintheirlocalcommunity–byfarthemajority–thereneedstobemoreaccesstofurthereducation.BalgohasanAdultEducationCentrebutitstrugglestofitintoanyoftheestablishedsystems.TAFEandthe

statesystemsdon’tsupportitstronglyenoughandit’sreallyalittleoutsidetheresponsibilityoftheCatholicEducationOffice,’hesays.

‘Peoplearetryingtodotoomuchintoomanyareasandit’snotpossibletodeliver.There’satendencytoforcewhitecultureontoAborigineswhodon’treallywantitorunderstandit.Thereisagenerationthatiscomingthroughthathasn’tdonewellatEnglish–andthey’renotterriblyworriedaboutthatbecauseit’sledtoastrengtheningoftheirowncultureandlanguage.Atthesametime,itappearsthatallofthemoneyforlanguageandcultureisdisappearingfastandbeingreplacedbythedominantculturallanguageofEnglish.

‘Afterallthiseducationinacaringenvironment,moststudentsstilldon’thavesufficientlevelsofliteracyandengagementskillstointeracteffectivelywiththerestofmainstreamAustralia.Balgoishome.Thisiswheretheywereborn.Thisiswheremostwillremain.Withvirtuallynojobs,youngpeoplehaveanuncertainfuture,atbest.Ifthere’stobeanyprogress,therehastobesomekindofcompro-mise,ofwhitesaccommodatingblacksandviceversa.’

AsCooper’scolleagueandfellowDeLaSallebrother,CalCusack,putit,‘Thewhiteman’swayisnottheonlywayandalotofthetimeit’snotthebestway.TheAboriginalpeoplehavemanythingstoteachus.Wedon’thavealltherightanswers.’AftermorethanthirteenyearslivingandteachingatWirrimanuthat’sawisdomworthlearning,andworthpassingon.

‘The white man’s way

is not the only way and

a lot of the time it’s

not the best way. The

Aboriginal people have

many things to teach us.

We don’t have all the

right answers.’

br cal cusack




InnovaTIon

FeWschoolprincipalshavebeenpreparedfortheirroleastechnologyleaders,andfewhavehadopportunitiesformeaningfulexperiencesinusingcomputerswithchildren.Whilemillionsofdollarshavebeenspentoninformationandcom-municationtechnology(ICT)inschoolsbystategovernmentsinrecentyears,accordingtoJohnSchillermostofthemoneyhasbeenspentonhardware,softwareandinfrastructureratherthanonstaffdevelopmentforteachersandprincipals.Theconcern,accordingtoastudybyDeniseMeredythandcolleagues, isthatdespitethislargeexpenditure,thepotentialforICTtoalterhowteachersteachandstudentslearninAustralianschoolshasnotbeenfullyrealised.

Accepting thehuge impactof ICTonour lives,educationandwork, it’svitalthatschoolleadersunderstandwhattheyneedtodotomakethebestuseoftechnologyforlearning.AsKenWalshpointedoutin2002,theyneedbothtounderstandthebigpictureanddeveloptheskillsrequiredtomakecrucialdeci-

Integrating IcTThe basics of successful strategic leadership

if you want to integrate information and communication

technology you need to think about more than

hardware, software and even online

communities of practice. You need face-to-face

professional development opportunities, especially for school leaders, says

neil mccallum.


InnovaTIon

sionsaboutschoolbudgetingandstaffingthataffecttheintegrationofICTintostudentlearning.

ThosewhowanttoseegreateruseofICTforteachingandlearninghavefocusedonwhatgoesonintheclassroomdespitethefactthatthekeytosuc-cess istheschoolprincipal.Sure,manyprincipalshaveagoodunderstandingofthemanagementandleadershipofchangeinschools,butfurthersupportintheareaofprofessionaldevelopmentintheintegrationofICTisneeded.OneofthemainconclusionsfromJohnSchiller’s2003studyofschoolprincipalsasachangefacilitatorintermsofICTinNewSouthWaleswasthatthere’saneed‘forpolicymakers,professionalassociationsandforsystem-leveldecisionmakerstoreflectonanddevisesupportmechanismsandstrategiestoassistprincipalstofurtherdeveloptheirknowledge,skillsanddispositionsaboutICTintheirworkandattheirschools.’

AT A GLANCE

Strategic Leadership

in ICT

What does the Strategic

Leadership in ICT,

or SLICT, provide for

school leaders? SLICT

gives participants:

• information, time and

space to evaluate

where they are now,

and to review and

develop their vision

• space to share

practice

• scope to address the

issues relating to ICT

and its potential for

learning

• a chance to address

their personal

development needs

• the licence to

challenge each other

in terms of their

thinking about current

and future ICT

• a chance to think

long term, while

identifying short-term

solutions.


InnovaTIon

SinceschoolsinEnglandaremoreadvancedthanmostAustralianschoolsintermsoftheimplementationofICT,it’sworthlookingatthewayschoolleadersthereareformallysupported.

SchoolleadersinEngland–orheadteachers,asthey’reknown–canpartici-pateinaprogramcalledStrategicLeadershipinICTorSLICT.ManagedbytheNationalCollegeofSchoolLeaders(NCSL),SLICTisagovernmentorganisationsetupin2001toprovideinformation,resourcesandprofessionaldevelopmentforschoolleadersacrossEngland.NCSLissupportedbytheBritishEducationalCommunicationsandTechnologyAgency(Becta),anothergovernmentorganisa-tionwhichprovidessupportandinformationonICTforteachersandschoollead-ers.LocalauthoritiesalsorunSLICTcoursesincooperationwiththeNCSL.

TheSLICTprogrambringsschoolleaderstogethertoshare,challengeandsupporteachother.Theprogramisbasedontheprinciplesofvision,reviewandplanning.SLICTmixesselfreviewwithschoolreview,andprovidesonlineandresidentialcontactforparticipantsaswellasvisitstohostschoolswhereICThasbeenidentifiedasastrength.TheideaistogiveschoolleadersmoreopportunitiestoseegoodpracticeandleadershipintheuseofICT.Leadersvisitinghostschoolsfocustheirobservationsanddiscussionsaroundthethreekeyareasofpedagogy,resourcesandorganisation.

SLICTisaboutexploringandsharinggoodpracticeintheuseofICT.Ratherthanlookingfora‘universalICTsolution’thatcanbeappliedtoallschools,schoolleadersaimtoidentifytherolethatICTcanplayintheirownschool.

Theapproachistoengageschoolleadersindevelopingandimplementingavisionfortheirschool,startingbybuildingtheirconfidenceintheirowninformedprofessionaljudgement.It’snotaskillscourse.

a communITy of PracTIceTwoweeksbefore the residential componentof theSLICTprogram,partici-pantsareinvitedtojoinanonlinepassword-protectedcommunityontalk2learn,hostedbytheNCSL,andtoundertakeaself-reviewoftheirschool’suseofICT.Talk2learnprovidesacommunityofpracticewhereheadteacherscandiscussideas,sharepracticeanddeveloppolicy.Becta’sSelf-ReviewFramework(SRF)enablesschoolstoratetheirprogressonaspectsofICT,providingexamplesforvariouslevelsinthirteencategoriesaswellasaguidetodemonstratehowschoolscanmoveforwardwithICT.

TalktotheschoolleadersinvolvedandmostsaytheSLICTcoursehasbeenofgreatvalue,rankingthecourse’sthree-dayformat,theschoolvisitandtheoppor-tunitytodiscussrealissueswithhost-schoolleadersandstaffasthemostvaluable.Theycouldseewhatapproachesworkedinthehostschoolandcouldthinkabouthowtheycouldimplementthemintheirownschool.Theyalsosawbenefitsinworkingwithlike-mindedleadersmotivatedbythepotentialofICT.

Mostschool leadersalsosaytheonlineself-reviewtool isuseful,andusethe framework toplan for the future as it covers all aspectsof ICT in theirschool.TheyalsosaythatonlinetoolsandtechniquesprovidedbytheTrainingandDevelopmentAgencyforSchoolsassisttheminmanagingtheprocessofchange.

SchoolleadersworkwiththeirwholestafforanICTteamtoexaminetheircurriculumsoastointegrateICTintotheteachingandlearningprogram.ICTdoesn’tdrivetheprogram,thecurriculumdoes,whichmeansICTisusedonlywhereitenhances,enrichesandextendsthecurriculumandengages,enthusesandempowersstudents.

Ask yourself

• What existing and

potential networks or

communities of practice

are available to you to

support the integration

of ICT?

• How does your

educational institution

account for expenditure

on ICT infrastructure?

Does it account for the

total cost of ownership?

• Does your educational

institution have enough

technical support staff to

support robust network

functions?


InnovaTIon

OnceschoolsreachaspecifiedstandardacrossallthirteenareasoftheSRFFramework,theycanapplytoBectaforaccreditationintheformofwhat’scalledtheICTMark.TheyneedtohavesuccessfullyintegratedICTacrosstheschoolinordertoattaintheICTMark.TheICTMarkofferssignificantstatussinceitrecognisestheworkbeingdoneintheschoolandcanbeusedtomarkettheschooltothecommunity.

ParticipantsintheSLICTprogramareshownhowtousetalk2learn,devel-opedbytheNCSL.Oneofthelargestonlineeducationallearningcommunitiesintheworld,talk2learnhasmorethan70,000schoolleadersregistered.Participantsincludeheadteachers,deputies,middle-levelleaders,bursars,schoolbusinessman-agersandadvancedskillsteachers.

Theaimsofthetalk2learnonlinecommunityaretoreduceisolationamongnewlyappointedheads,promotethesharingofgoodpracticeandofferemotionalandprofessionalsupport.

A2005NCSLstudyintothetalk2learnonlinecommunitycalled70,000 heads are better than one – available at www.ncsl.org.uk/onlinecommunities/extractedlearning/70000/index.cfm–foundthattheever-increasingcomplexityof leadershipresponsibilities,aswellastheneedtooperatebeyondtraditionalschoolboundaries,demandednewapproachestoleadershipthroughauthenticcollaborationofthekindprovidedthroughtalk2learn.(6)

Accordingto70,000 heads,oneofthekeyaspectstothesuccessofthis–orany–onlinecommunityistheroleofthefacilitator.Wherefacilitationiswithdrawnorinconsistent,communityactivityoftendecreases.Whereit’sproactive,consistentandvisible,communitiestendtoflourish,providedpurposeandexpectationsare

The SLICT program

brings school leaders

together to share,

challenge and support

each other. The idea is

to give school leaders

more opportunities to

see good practice and

leadership in the use

of ICT.


InnovaTIon

clearandunderstoodbytheparticipants.(32)Intalk2learnthee-learningfacili-tatorencourages,supportsandenablesparticipantstosharetheirlearningwhilemaintainingafriendlyenvironmentsotheyfeelcomfortableindiscussion,shareinformationandpublishtheirownitems.Thefacilitatoralsoprovidestechnicalsupportbackedupbymeansofadedicatedphonehelpline.

Theproblemwithanonlinecommunityapproach,however,iswithtakeup.Ninetypercentofschoolleadersvisittheonlinecommunitysotheygetto

knowcolleagueswhoareabouttoattendthesameresidentialevent,althoughengagement drops off, sometimes quite alarmingly, afterwards. That’s to beexpectedimmediatelyafterwardswhenheadsreturntotheirschoolandarethrustintofightingthespotfiresthathavebeensparkedintheirthree-dayabsence,butthefactismanypost-residentialcommunitiessimplywitheranddiewhileasmallnumberthrivewithheadsreallyexploringissuesandlearningtogether.

NCSLstaffhavefoundthatthe‘ifwebuildit,theywillcome’approachdoesn’twork.That’snothowonlinecommunitiesgrow.Workingonlinecommunitiestakeintoaccountthenaturalnervousnessexperiencedbysomepeoplewhenworkingandcollaboratingonline.Smallcommunitiesworkwellwhenallmembersareactivelyinvolvedandbuyintoit,butthiscan’tbeexpectedfromagroupofschoolleadersthrowntogetherbythehappenstanceofattendingthesameevent.

That’swhyablendedlearningexperienceisnowofferedbySLICT.Itbeginswithacohortonlinecommunityinvolvingthoseprovidingthecourse,topractise

theonlinetechniquesrequiredtocollaborateonline,whichisthenexploitedfullyattheface-to-faceevent.Post-event,participantscanjoinnationaldiscussionsfacili-tatedbythosewhoprovidedtheircourseaccordingtoastrictandcleartimetableofevents.AmonthlyICTupdateandaccesstofurthercontentandvideocasestud-iesthroughalinkwiththeLearningGatewayalsohelptomaintainparticipationintheonlinecommunities.(53)Evenso,whilebeginningheadsfindtheonlinecommunityausefulresource,experiencedheadssaytheyprefertousetheirlocalnetworks.Somesaythey’reoverwhelmedbytalk2learn’s70,000membersandpreferemail,phoneandface-to-faceinteraction.Someusetalk2learntobrowsetopicsandtosearchforspecificinformationbutfewusetheforumfacility.

Severallocaleducationauthorities,likeDurham,havedevelopedtheirownlocalversionofSLICT.Theresponsehasbeenpositive:participantsfindthelocalcoursemorerelevanttothemandtheirschools;coursesarenon-residentialandthereforecheaper;accesstoalocalhostschooliseasier;anetworkisdevelopedamongfortyparticipantswhogenerallyalreadyknoweachotherandareincloseproximitytoeachother;andafacilitatorfromthelocalauthoritycoordinatesthecommunity.

Onlinecommunitiesmaybeusefulinsomecases,yet,astheNCSL’sDavidJacksonhasnoted,they’renosubstituteforface-to-faceinteraction,althoughtheycansupportitandsustainit.

Issues ThaT affecT IcT InTegraTIonTechnical supportBothEnglishandScottishgovernmentshaverealised theimportanceofprovidingappropriatetechnicalsupportinschoolssothatcom-putersystemsoperatewellandcanberepairedquickly.Somelargerschoolshavefulltimetechnicians,whichabsorbsaconsiderableproportionoftheoverallICTbudget.JamieMcKenzie,Editoroftheeducationaltechnologyjournal,From Now On,pointsoutin‘Thetruecostofownership’that,‘Inthebusinessworld,stand-ardsfortechniciansupportlevelsusuallycallforonetechnicianforeveryfiftytoseventy-fiveusers.Inschooldistricts(intheUnitedStates),theremaybeonlyone

Online communities may

be useful in some cases,

yet as the NCSL’s David

Jackson has noted

they’re no substitute for

face-to-face interaction.


InnovaTIon

technicianforevery300to500desktops.Thislackofstaffingusuallyleadstoanunstablenetwork,abacklogofmalfunctioningdesktopsandmuchfrustrationforendusers.Understaffingalsochokesoffthedevelopmentofmanynetworkservicessuchasstorage,emailandtheprovisionofinformationservicesascrisismanage-mentbecomesthemainfocusofactivity.NetworkstarvationoccurswhenITdepartmentsdonothaveenoughstafftosupportrobustnetworkfunctions.’(6)

Total cost of ownership Thetotalcostofownership(TCO)ofaschool’sICTinfrastructureisthesumofallthecostsassociatedwiththepurchase,implementa-tion,operationandmaintenanceoftheservice.Someofthesecostscanbeeasilyquantifiedwhileothers,althoughsignificant,aremuchmoredifficulttoidentifyandquantify.CapitalexpenditureonICTinschoolsandcollegesrepresentsonlyasmallpartoftheongoingcostsof incorporatingtechnologyintoeducation.Decisionsmadetodaywithregardtotechnology,management,curriculum,policy-making,ICTtrainingandsupportwillhaveadirectinfluenceonthecostsaninstitutionwill incurtomorrow.Understandingtherelationshipbetweenthesedecisionsandfuturecostsisbecomingincreasinglyimportant.SeniormanagersinschoolsarenowmoreawareoftheneedtoplaneffectivelytoensurethatICTprovisionissustainableinthelongterm.

TheTCOwebsite–athttp://schools.becta.org.uk–providesanExcelspread-sheetandanonlinemodelforheadstocalculatethetotalcostofownershipfortheirICT.SamplesonthesiteclearlyitemiseICTcostsintermsofprofessionaldevel-opment,technicians,consumables,security,furniture,cablingandperipherals.

Decisions made

today with regard

to technology,

management, curriculum,

policymaking, ICT

training and support will

have a direct influence

on the costs an institution

will incur tomorrow.


InnovaTIon

AccordingtoMcKenzie,therearesixaspectsofTCOthatdecisionmakersneedtoconsider,nottheleastimportantbeingtheneedforprofessionaldevelopment.‘Fewteachersarenaturallyequippedtomakeproductiveuseofnewtechnologies,’hepointsout.‘Theyoftenrequirefiftyto100hoursofintensiveadultlearningtograspthepotentialofnewtechnologiestotransformstudentlearning.Veryfewdistrictsareequippedtooffermuchmorethansoftwaretraining,atrapthatreducesthechanceofmakinganimpactupondailyclassroompractice.’(5)

Computer labs or computers in classes? TherehasbeenasteadymoveawayfromcomputerlaboratoriesinUKschoolstohavingmorecomputersinclass-rooms.Anotherpopularinitiativehasbeentrolleyswithbanksofwirelesslaptopcomputers.

strategiesTheeffectiveintegrationofICTdependsoneffectivestrategies,suchas:

• focusingfirstongoodteaching–‘IfICTcanbeincorporated,great;ifnot,don’tuseit’

• developinga‘webofsupport’toavoidhavingonepersonbeingtheexpert–‘Ifyouidentifyandsupportsome“champions”onstaffthenhopefullytherestwillfollow’

• creatinganICTteamonstaffratherthanhavingacoordinator

• providingUSBdrivesandCDssothatteacherscantakeworkandsoftwarehometotrial

• developingavisionforICT–leaderssaidthat‘thereviewandaudittoolwasusefulinidentifyingwherewewereatandwherewewantedtogo’

• gettingblockersonboard–leadersfeltthat‘reluctantstaffmaycomeonboardoncetheyseetheneedandimpactofthetechnologyandsoftware’

• providingin-houseprofessionaldevelopment,especiallyshortsessionsafterschool

• immersingkindergartenandpre-schoolclasseswithawidevarietyoftech-nology

• developinganenvironmentwherestaffarehappytoshareICTexpertisewith

otherstaffandtakeriskswithICT

• rememberingthatchangetakestime–incrementalchangesatapacesuitedtothestaffandschool,andwheresuccessiscelebrated,arebest

• piloting an ICT initiative before full implementation – leaders said ‘welearnedfromthepilotandwerethenconfidentwithimplementingthefullprogram.’

interactive white boardsInteractivewhiteboards(IWBs)havebeeninstalledinmanyUKclassroomsinrecentyearsandaconsiderableamountofresearchhasbeencompleted.Inaddition,thereareextensiveresourcesforIWBsavailableforteachersthroughTeachernetandBecta.SeveralLondonschoolshavepurchasedvisualisersasapresentationtechnologyinpreferencetoIWBs.Visualiserscanbedisplayedonalargerscreenandaresupportedbytheuseofagraphicstabletuponwhichtheteacherandstudentscanwriteordrawwhichisthendisplayedonthescreen.

ManyUKheadsandteacherssayIWBshavehadapositiveimpactonteach-ing.ThisevidenceissupportedbyresearchbyMalLeeandArthurWinzenriedonthesuccessfulintroductionofIWBsinAustraliaandoverseas.TheteachersintheirstudyembracedtheuseofIWBsandembeddedthetechnologyintheireverydayteachingsotheycan‘capitalise...upontheever-emergingdigitalopportunities.’(23)LeeandWinzenriedsaytherearetwomainreasonsforthissuccess:the

If we want to remain

competitive against

other industrialised

countries then the

Commonwealth and

state governments needs

to make a substantial

investment in ICT.


InnovaTIon

Neil McCallum is the principal at Craigie Primary School in Perth’s northern suburbs. He was awarded a fellowship for research on which this article draws from the Western Australia Leadership Centre. The full report is available at: http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/lc/index.html


focusisonenhancingthequalityofteaching;andprincipalsfacilitatedfunding,providedawhole-of-schoolfocusandsupportedtheprogramcoordinator.(24)

WhenyoucombinetheintroductionofIWBsinmostUKschoolsandmanyclassrooms,theconsiderablefundingprovidedbytheEnglishandScottishgov-ernments,andtheestablishmentofBecta,theNCSLandtheNationalGridforLearningandTeacher.com.uk,youhavearecipefortheeffectiveintegrationofICTinschools.Technologyalonedoesn’tleadtochangeorimprovedoutcomesforstudents.Allitcandoissupportthecurriculumandprovideavarietyofuse-fulandmotivatingresourcesforteachersandstudents.What’sreallyneededisprofessionaldevelopment.IntheUK,thathasbeeneffectiveandwellresearched,andhasgivenschoolleaderstheconfidenceandtoolsbothtodevelopavisionfortheirschoolandtomanagethechangeprocesseffectively.

CommonwealthandstategovernmentsinAustraliamustundertakeresearchanddeliverqualityprofessionaldevelopmentopportunitiesforprincipals,includ-ingtheprovisionofonlinecommunitiesandthecoordinationoffacilitatorsatthedistrictlevel.

ICTaccreditationwouldbeofconsiderableusetomanyAustralianschools.Itwouldbemotivatingfortheschoolcommunityandarecognitionofexcellence.Itwouldalsobeapositivemarketingtoolforschoolsintheircommunity.

The conservative estimate is that installing IWBs in every classroom inAustraliawouldcost$1billion–meaningthere’safurtherTCOfigureofanother$500millionneededforprofessionaldevelopmentandothercosts.IfwewanttoremaincompetitiveagainstotherindustrialisedcountriesthentheCommonwealthandstategovernmentsneedstomakeasubstantialinvestmentinICT.


naTIonal PersPecTIve

a shortage of qualified Maths and science teachers is

not the only problem, reports steve holden. australia also faces a possible shortage of

primary teachers and of school leaders.

national perspectiveA LAborgovernmentwouldcutuniversityfeesforScienceandMathsunder-graduatesbyalmosthalf,withmorecutsforthosewhobecometeachers,accordingtoOppositionleaderKevinRudd.

Labor’sself-styled‘educationrevolution’policywouldcuttheannualHECSfeeforMathsandScienceundergraduatesfrom$7,118to$3,998,thesamelevelasfornursingandteaching.Laborestimatesthepolicywouldcost$111millionoverfouryears.Announcingthepolicylastmonth,RuddsaidMathsandSciencewerecriticaltoAustralia’seconomiccompetitivenessandlong-termeconomicprosperity.

AccordingtoareportcommissionedbytheAustralianCouncilofDeansofScience(ACDS),‘ThePreparationofMathematicsTeachersinAustralia,’pub-lishedlastJuly,seventy-fivepercentofteachersofseniorschoolMathsheldaMathematicsmajor,butaworryingeightpercentofMathsteachershadstudiednoMathematicsatuniversity,whileoneinfivehadnotstudiedMathematicsbeyondfirstyear.ThereportbyKerri-LeeHarrisandFelicityJenszfromtheCentrefortheStudyofHigherEducationattheUniversityofMelbournealsofoundthatthreeinfourschoolsreporteddifficultiesrecruitingsuitably-qualifiedMathsteachers,especiallyinmoreremoteregionsandinQueensland.

Those findings largely confirm the situation regarding Science teachingpublishedin‘Who’sTeachingScience?’preparedbyHarris,JenszandGabrielleBaldwinfortheACDSandpublishedinJanuary2005.Accordingtothatreport,nearlyforty-threepercentofseniorschoolPhysicsteacherslackedaPhysicsmajor,oneinfournothavingstudiedthesubjectbeyondfirst-year,whileoneinfourChemistryteacherslackedaChemistrymajor,andfourteenpercentofseniorschoolBiologyteacherslackedaBiologymajor.ThirtypercentofschoolsreporteddifficultyinfillingvacanciesforChemistryteachers,whilefortypercenthaddif-ficultyrecruitingsuitably-qualifiedPhysicsteachers.

QualifiedMathsandScienceteachersaside,predictionsofaloomingteach-ingshortagesuggesttheworldwillneedanextraeighteenmillionprimaryschoolteachersinlessthantenyears.AccordingtoFredvanLeeuwen,GeneralSecretaryoftheglobaleducationunion,EducationInternational,aglobalshortagewouldhitAustralia’spublicschoolshardiffundingforpublicschoolsremainslow.SpeakingattheAustralianEducationUnionFederalConferenceinJanuary,vanLeeuwensaidtheproblemforAustraliaisthatitranksinthebottomhalfofOECDcountriesinpercapitaeducationexpenditure,andgovernmentfundingisextremelylow.

Ifretirementliesbehindaloomingglobalteachingshortageit’salsobehindalooming,andpossiblyworse,schoolleadershipshortage.AccordingtoLeadership Succession: Securing the next generation of school leaders, a report by Britain’sNationalCollegeforSchoolLeadership(NCSL),schoolsinBritainfaceadoublewhammy:toomanyschoolleaderswillretireoverthenextfiveyearsandtherearetoofewaspirantleaderstoreplacethemsincetheaverage‘apprenticeship’istwentyyears–fifteenasaclassroomteacherandfiveasadeputy.TheNCSL’ssolution?Systematictalentspottingofaspirantsandtheprovisionofopportunitiesforthemtoleadearlierintheircareersinordertoreducetheleadershipapprenticeshipperiod.SchoolsandsystemsinAustralia,NewZealand,theUnitedStatesand,well,everywherecanexpectsimilarmeasurestoaddresstheirschoolleadershipshortagessoonerthanlater.


In brIef

In brief in your statEAuSTrALiAn CAPiTAL TErriToryThousands of ACT students and scores of teachers began the new school year at a new school after the ACT government closed three preschools and seven primary schools in its first round of closures.

WESTErn AuSTrALiAPolice officers from the Commercial Crime Division in Western Aus-tralia alongside investigators from the Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) raided the Australian Islamic College at Kewdale in Perth’s south in January, seizing three truckloads of documents and computers. The raid was part of an investigation of fraud allegations. It’s alleged the school has been rorting Commonwealth and state student subsidy systems. Australian Islamic College is the highest funded non-government school in the country, receiving $18.5 million a year in subsidies from the Commonwealth and state governments. No charges have been laid.

QuEEnSLAndMore than 29,000 children made history as Queensland began its first year of Prep. The initiative required 416 new classrooms, 420 refurbishments and 1,000 minor upgrades, as well as $2 million for professional development and $15.8 million for curriculum resources to support principals, teachers and teacher aides. An additional 100 teachers have also been employed to support the introduction of Prep.

Make sure in brief really covers what’s happening in your region. Email [email protected]

comPuTer use ImProves acaDemIc PerformanceStudentswhoareestablishedcomputeruserstendtoperformbetterinkeyschoolsubjectsthanthosewithlimitedexperience,accordingtoanOECDreport,Are students ready for a technology-rich world?publishedinJanuary.Thestudyprovidesthefirstinternationallycomparativedatainthisarea,basedontheOECD’sPISA2003assessmentofeducationalperformancebyfifteen-yearolds.Thestudyidenti-fiesarelationshipbetweencomputeruseandstudentperformanceinMathematics.Studentswhohaveusedcomputersforseveralyearsmostlyperformbetterthanaverage.Bycontrast,thosewhodon’thaveaccesstocomputersorwhohavebeenusingcomputersforonlyashorttimetendtolagbehindtheirclassyear.Girlsremainlessconfidentthanboysinperformingcomputerfunctions,especiallyhigh-leveltaskssuchasprogrammingormulti-mediapresentations.Girlsalsotendoveralltousecomputerslessfrequentlythanboys,whoaremorelikelythangirlstohavecomputersathomeinmostOECDcountriesandmorelikelytoplaycomputergamesanddoprogramming.

resource or ProPaganDa?An Inconvenient Truth,AlGore’scontroversialfilmonclimatechange,isbeingprovidedfreeinDVDformattoeveryhighschoolacrossAustralia,aprogrambank-rolledtothetuneof$80,000byrenewableenergycompanyJackgreenandcoordinatedbyJohnDee,thefounderofPlanetArk.Criticssaythefilmispropa-gandaanditssupplytohighschoolsillustratesalackof‘balance.’

cheaT checKer checKeD by coPyrIghTTheStudentUnionatRMITUniversityisattemptingtopreventRMITusingtheanti-plagiarismsoftware,Turnitin,onthebasisthattheweb-crawlingsoft-

wareusedbyTurnitinbreachestheintellectualpropertyrightsoftheauthorsofpapers intheTurnitindatabase.AccordingtoLizThompson,astudents’rightsofficeratRMIT’sStudentUnion,theTurnitindatabaseofstudentpapersbreachesAustralianintellectualpropertylawsbecausecopyrightremainswitheachstudentauthorandauthorsneitherprovidethepapersnorpermissiontoTurnitin. ‘Whenpeoplesignonlineforenrolment(atRMIT)there’sa littlebitdownthebottomthatsaysyouagreetohaveyourworktransmittedforthepurposesofdetectingplagiarism.Ifyoudon’tsignonforthat,youcan’tenrol.ThatistakenbyRMITaspermissionforTurnitin,whothenuseittomakeawholelotofprofit,’Thompsonsays.

booKs for TanzanIaHelptheSchoolofStJudeinTanzaniatohonouritsmotto–‘Fightingpovertythrougheducation’–bysendingdonationsofrelativelyrecentfictionandnon-fictionprimaryandsecondarylibrarybooks,classsetsofEnglishreadersforallages,orpencils,markers,chalkandexercisebooks.TheSchoolofStJudewasopenedin2002byAustralianteacher,GemmaSisia,asasponsorship-supportedEnglishMediumSchool fororphanedandvulnerablechildren fromthe low-estsocio-economicbackgrounds.Tosenddonations,[email protected]


Issues


Issues

THemodelofschool-basedteachereducation(SBTE),explicitlyarticulatedintheCentreforIndependentStudiesreport,Good Teachers Where They Are Needed(Buckingham,2005),hasreceivedconsiderableattentioninAustraliaandappearstobeinfluencingteachereducationprogramsassomeuniversities,likeCentralQueenslandUniversity,movetoincreasetheschool-basedcomponentofcourses.

ThemostlikelywaytheSBTEmodelwouldoperateisasapaidinternship,withapplicantsplaceddirectlyintoschoolsandcompletingsomeformofqualifica-tionpart-timewhiletheyteachintheclassroom,andwhileit’sinitiallyanappeal-ingmodel,andwhileitidentifiesanumberofproblemswithcurrentapproachestoteachereducation,thecaseforenablingteachereducationtobeconductedprima-rilywithinaschoolenvironmentisnotcompelling.Infact,theresearchsuggeststhatthewidespreadintroductionofSBTEislikelytobeexpensive,systemicallyinefficientandunlikelytoreduceteachershortages.Tosaythisisnottorefutethecentralityofprofessionalpracticetoteachereducationcourses,northeneedtoimproverelationshipsbetweenschoolsanduniversitiesinthepreparationofteach-ers;itistosaythateffectiveteachereducation,involvingcomplexpedagogicalandcontentknowledge,requiresaresearch-embeddedculture,andthatanapprentice-shipmodelisinappropriateforpreparinggraduatestosucceedin,andadaptto,ateachingenvironmentcharacterisedbyrapidandconstantchange.

Teacher shorTages AmajorargumentofproponentsofSBTEisthatitsolvestheteachershortageproblem.In2001theMinisterialCouncilonEmployment,Education,TrainingandYouthAffairsestimatedthatshortagesofupto30,000werepossiblebytheendofthedecade.(MCEETYA,2001)TheAustralianCouncilofDeansof Education, meanwhile, has consistently warned of teacher shortages andadvocatedtheneed formoreplaces tobemadeavailablewithinuniversities.(ACDE,2004)DisciplineareasofparticularconcernareScience,Mathematics,Technology(SMT)andLanguages,whilerural,regionalandpoorerschoolsarealsofrequentlycharacterisedashard-to-staff.SupporterssaySBTEcouldaddress

areasofteachershortage,primarilyby ‘reducingthedisincentivestoenteringtheteachingprofession.’(Buckingham,2005:1)Ratherthansacrificingayear’sincome,theargumentgoes,aninternshipmodelwouldenableteachingcandidatestoearnasalarywhilestudying.Intheory,thiswouldencouragemoretalentedapplicantswhomayalreadybeearningsubstantialincomes,particularlyfromtheSMTfields,toentertheprofession.

Anotableweaknessofthisargumentisthatitfocusesexclusivelyonattract-ingteachers.Teachershortages,bycontrast,arecausednotprimarilybyadearthofbeginninggraduates,butbyhighattritionratesandunevendistribution.TheattritionissuewasexplicitlyaddressedinAustralia’s Teachers: Australia’s Future(DEST2003:87),whichnotedthataroundtwenty-fivepercentofteachersleavetheprofessionwithinfiveyears.Ofcourse,thereasonsforsuchhighattritionratesarenotallnegative,andincludethefactthatteachingdegreesprovidehighlyport-ableskills.Neverthelessthefiguresrepresentachallenge,thefullextentofwhichisrevealedbyinternationalresearchshowingtherelationshipbetweenattritionratesandteachershortages.

AsDarling-HammondandSykesnote,‘retainingteachersisafarlargerprob-lemthantrainingnewones–andkeytosolvingteacher“shortages.”’(2003:3)IntheUnitedStates,attritionratesafterfiveyearsarebroadlycomparabletoAustralia,andtheturnoverofstaffinlow-incomeschoolsisestimatedtobefifty

school-based teacher education: it promises to reduce teacher shortages, increase the classroom experience of trainees and expand the diversity and raise the quality of applicants.

is it the way forward? andrew harvey has some doubts.


Issues

percenthigherthantherateinaffluentschools.(Ingersoll,2001:516)InAustraliain2006,theNationalCentreofScience,ICTandMathematicsEducationforRuralandRegionalAustralia(SiMERR)NationalSurveyfoundthat,‘TeachersinProvincialAreasweretwiceas likely,andthose inRemoteAreasaboutsixtimesas likely,astheirMetropolitanandProvincialCitycolleaguestoreporthighannualstaffturnoverrates(greaterthantwentypercentperannum)intheirschools.’(DEST,2006:vi)

Clearlyacontinualinfluxofinexperiencedteachersisnotideal,andisapar-ticularproblemforlow-income,ruralandregionalschools.Researchindicatesthatteachereffectivenessimprovesmarkedlyafterthefirsttwoyearsofservice(Hanushek,Kain&Rivkin,1998),yetwhilesomemeansofcounteringteacherattrition–suchasbettersalariesandconditions,moresupportintheearlyyearsofteachingandimprovedprofessionaldevelopment–havebeenwelldocumented,oneimportantfactorhasbeenlargelyoverlooked.

Thetypeofpreparationreceivedbyteachersislikelytobeafactorinteacherattrition.ExtensiveUSresearchsuggeststhatthelengthofteacherpreparationislinkedtothelikelylengthofteachingservice,whichleadstothesomewhatsurpris-ingconclusionthatthemostcost-effectivewaytotrainateachermayinfactbethroughafive-yeardegree,duetolowerattritionratesafterteachingcommence-ment.(DarlingHammond&Sykes,2003:22)ThereislessresearchinAustraliaonthisissue:arecentstudyfromtheAustralianCouncilforEducationalResearch(ACER)foundthat ‘teacherswhocompletedafour-yearundergraduatecoursegenerallyreportedmorefavourablyontheircoursethanteacherswhocompletedapostgraduate(shorter)degree’(Ingvarson,2005:7),butthere’slittleevidencetoshowwhetherthistranslatestotimespentinservice.

Look at SBTE, however, and the international research is discouraging.Numerousstudiesconfirmthatteacherswithlittlepre-serviceeducationleavetheprofessionattwoorthreetimestherateofthosewithmoresubstantialinitialprepa-ration.(Henkeetal.,2000;Greyetal.,1993)IntheUS,interestingly,theresultsaresimilarforTeachforAmerica(TFA),theprogramoftenlaudedbyproponentsofSBTE.TFAstudents,whoarehigh-achievinguniversitygraduateswhochoosetoworkinlow-incomeandhard-to-staffschools,havehigherattritionratesthancertifiedteachersinsimilarconditions.Soeveniffully-certifiedTFAgraduatesperformataroundthesamelevelastraditionally-certifiedgraduatesaftertwoyearsofteaching,asBuckinghammaintains(2005:10-11),thereremainstheproblemthattheydon’tstayintheprofessionforaslong.AstudybyDarling-Hammondandcolleagues(2005:26)showedthatthevastmajorityofTFArecruitsleftaftertheirsecondorthirdyearofteaching.

HighattritionmakesSBTEanexpensivemodelofprovision,asacknowledgedbyitssupporters.(Buckingham,2005:14)Apartfromtheinitialexpense,theeconomiccostsofcontinuallyre-hiringaremanifest,andareexacerbatedbythefactthatteacherswithexperienceperformbetterthanthosewithout.WhilethefullcostsofSBTEaredifficulttocalculate,they’relikelytobemuchhigherthanitssupportersconcede.

Anothermajorcauseofteachershortagesisunevendistributionacrossbothgeographicanddisciplineareas.Whiletheremayinfactbeanover-supplyofteach-ersinmetropolitanareasandinsomedisciplines,therearestillmanifestdifficultiesinfillingruralandregionalposts,andpositionsindisciplinessuchasScienceandMathematics.Inpart,thesedifficultiescanbeaddressedbyscholarships,debtwaiversandotherfinancialincentives.Inthecaseofregionalandruralstudents,however,thepreservationofstrongEducationfacultiesinregionalAustraliais

School-based teacher education• won’t reduceteachershortages

• won’t improvethequalityand

diversityofapplicants

• isn’t acost-effectivealternative

totraditionalpathways

• does identifyproblemsinpre-serviceteachereducation.


Issues


Issues

Whatever the

form and length

of professional

experience, it’s

essential that

graduates have

the opportunity to

reflect and build

on their practice,

and that theory and

practice are

interconnected.

Merely providing

more time in

schools, along

the lines of an

apprenticeship

model, is unlikely

to produce the

teachers required

for the Twenty-first

Century.

essential.TheSiMERRsurveynotesthat,‘aboutseventy-threepercentofrespond-entswholivedinruralcentreswhilecompletingtheirinitialteachereducationarecurrentlyteachinginProvincialAreaorRemoteAreaschools.’(DEST,2006:vi)TheRuralEducationForumofAustraliahasalsooutlinedanumberofmeasurestoimprovethenumberandqualityofplacementsinruralandregionalareas,followingtheargumentthatthosewhostudyinaregionalareaaremorelikelytoremainworkingthere.(REFA,2005)

Inthelongerterm,attractingapplicantsfromtheSMTfieldsdependsonimprovingthestatusoftheteachingprofession.AquickfixlikeSBTEmaybeneitherquicknorafix.Rather,itmayleadtoevenhigherratesofattritionandadiminutioninstatusoftheteachingprofession.Putsimply,theprofessionsattract-ingthehighest-qualityapplicantsarethoseofhighstatus.Loweringthebarforentryintoteachingisunlikelytoraisethestatusoftheprofession.Indeed,con-trarytotheearly-entrymodelofSBTE,thelimitedevidenceavailablesuggestsweneedtomoveawayfromone-year,end-ondegreesandrequireallteacherstostudyteachingforbetweeneighteenmonthsandtwoyears,albeitinincreasinglydiverseprograms.ReplacingthetraditionalDiplomaofEducationwithalongerdegree,asproposedbytheUniversityofMelbourne,mayhaveshort-termimpli-cationsforteachershortages,butmayalsoleadtoabetterknowledgebaseand

greaterretentionofqualityteachers.Teachingisacomplexprofessioninwhichthedepthofthepedagogicalandcontentknowledgerequiredissubstantial.Aswithsimilarprofessions,substantialpre-serviceeducationisrequiredtocreateacohortofprofessionalpractitioners.

ProfessIonal PracTIceAdvocatesalsoarguethatSBTEprovidesthenecessaryclassroomexperiencecur-rentlylackinginteachereducationcourses.AccordingtoBuckingham,SBTE‘effectivelyaddresseswidespreadconcernsthatuniversityteachereducationcoursesdonotprovidetraineeswithsufficientclassroomexperience,andthatgraduatesareill-preparedfortakingonfullteachingduties.’(2005:1)

Thisclaiminvolvestwoseparatebutrelatedconcerns.Thefirstisthatthequantityandqualityofclassroomexperienceiscurrentlyinsufficient.Evidencecitedforthisclaimincludesthe1998Ramsey Review,the2005Victorian Parliamentary Report into Teacher Educationandtheviewsofsomeprincipals.(See,forexample,ASPA,2003)Mostofthisevidenceisanecdotal,however,andthereremainslittleresearchintotheeffectofshorterandlongerperiodsofpracticalexperience.

Fewifanyteachereducatorswoulddisputethebeliefthatprofessionalpracticeshouldbeattheheartofteachereducation.Indeed,therearemanycasesofpartner-shipandpracticumarrangementsinthiscountrythathaveledtheworld.(ACDE,2002)AsAustralia’s Teachers: Australia’s Futurenoted,‘Manyinstitutionshavebeenpioneeringnewapproachestoextendingtheamountofpracticalexperienceanddiversifyingitscontent.’(DEST,2003:140)Inacknowledgingtheextentofthisinnovation,theauthorsofthatreviewnotedthat:‘Severalprogramsusetheoppor-tunityofpracticumsforstudentstoundertakefocusedactionresearchprojects....Anumberofteachereducationprogramsprovidestudentteacherswithexposuretoschoolsbeyondtheformalpracticums....Organisationsprovidingsocialsupport(forexample,theSmithFamily)andarangeofculturalorganisationsnowrecruitstudentsannuallytosupporttheirwork.’(DEST,2003:140)

Unfortunatelytherehasbeenlittleattempttomapthisinnovationsystem-aticallyortocompareexistingdiverseapproaches,andresearchintotheseareaswouldbewelcome.


Issues

Today’sstudentsmaynotbeasdissatisfiedaboutclassroomexperienceasisoftenclaimed.AstheACERsurveyfortheVictorianInstituteofTeaching(2004)highlighted,teachersgenerallyratedtheircoursesquitefavourably,andwithinthatanalysis,‘schoolexperiencewasratedhigherthanotherelementsofteachereducationprograms.’(Ingvarson,2005:7)Substantialinnovationisbeingunder-takenwithinteachereducationcoursestoimprovetheclassroomandotherpracti-calexperienceofstudents.Possibilitiesfortheexpansionofprofessionalpracticeareneverthelesslimitedbycurriculumconstraints,bythecostofplacements,byresourcelimitationsreflectedinworseningstudent-to-staffratiosandbybureau-craticimpediments,particularlywithintheone-year,end-ondegrees.

Whatevertheformandlengthofprofessionalexperience,it’sessentialthatgraduateshavetheopportunitytoreflectandbuildontheirpractice,andthattheoryandpracticeareinterconnected.Merelyprovidingmoretimeinschools,alongthelinesofanapprenticeshipmodel, isunlikelytoproducetheteachersrequiredfortheTwenty-firstCentury.AsFraserhighlights,‘Theapprenticeshipapproachworkswellinpreparingpeopleforaprofessionasitiscurrentlypractised.Itdoesnotworkverywellinpreparingpeopletobereflectiveortoinnovateandbeleadersofchange.’(2002:8)SBTEwouldprivilegethepracticalcomponent,butfailtoaccountforthecomplexitiesofteachingintheknowledgeeconomy.

Thecryforgreaterclassroomexperienceisalignedtothesecondclaimiden-tifiedbyBuckingham,namelythat‘graduatesareill-preparedfortakingonfullteachingduties.’Toexaminethatclaim,it’sworthlookingattheexpectationsotherprofessionsplaceontheirgraduates.Teachingremainsvirtuallyaloneinthelackofstructuredassistanceavailabletobeginningpractitioners,despitethe

It’s not reasonable to

expect ‘teacher-ready’

graduate, whether

they graduate through

SBTE or the traditional

method.


Issues

factthatit’sacomplexprofessioninwhichthespeedofchangeismanifestandfullteachingdutiesarefrequentlycombinedwithadministration,socialwork,counselling,nursingandotherdutiesintheclassroomwiththeeffectthatfewbeginningteacherscouldbeconsidered‘teacher-ready’intheambitioussenselaiddownbytheVictorian Parliamentary Report.(2005)Thesolutiontoaperceivedproblemofinadequatepreparationisnottoreducethepreparation.Ifthereisanytruthtotheclaimthatteachersarenotreadytoteachatthepointoftheirprofessionalentry,themostobvioussolutionistoextendandexpandpre-serviceeducationasrequired.

Thecomplexitiesofcontemporaryteachingalsounderlinetheimportanceof ongoing professional development. Changes in discipline and pedagogicalknowledge‘requirethecontinualrenewalbyteachersoftheirownknowledgeandunderstanding’(DEST,2003),butprofessionaldevelopmentisunder-resourced,undervaluedandgenerallyinadequatetothetask.(SenateReport,1998)Highereducationcouldprovideaconsiderablepartoftheprofessionaldevelopmentneededthroughawardandnon-awardcourses,buttherearefewincentivesandmanyinhibitorstoteachersparticipatinginthepostgraduatestudythatcouldextendtheirprofessionalexpertise.(Ramsey,2000)

It’s not reasonable to expect ‘teacher-ready’ graduates as defined by theVictorian Parliamentary Report(2005),whethertheygraduatethroughSBTEorthetraditionalmethod.Teachingisacomplexandrapidlychangingscience.Justasdoctorsandlawyersneedtocontinuetolearnandadaptthroughouttheircareers,sodoteachers.Thepurposeofanyteachereducationprogrammustthereforebetoestablishsoundfoundationsonwhichknowledgeandexperiencecanbebuiltovertime.ThewidespreadsuccessofAustralianschoolstudentsininternationaltestssuchasPISAandTIMSSsuggeststhatteachereducationprogramsarecurrentlyprovidingthesefoundationsrelativelywell.(OECD,2002)AmoreseriousproblemliesinthecharacterisationoftheAustralianschoolsystemasa‘high-quality-but-low-equity’model.Improvingeducationaloutcomesinlowsocioeconomicandregionalandruralareasrequires,amongothermeasures,greatlyimprovedteacherretentioninthoseareas.SBTEisunlikelytoleadtoimprovedteacherretention

which,inturn,affectstheteachingqualitydesiredbyall.

greaTer DIversITy anD beTTer aPPlIcanTsAdvocatesofSBTEfrequentlyrefertothecurrentdearthofhigh-qualityteachingapplicants,particularlyinSMTareas.Irrespectiveoftheveracityofthisclaim,theclearestwaytoimprovethequalityofapplicantsistoimprovethestatusoftheteach-ingprofession.Payingallteachershighersalariesmightwellhavethiseffect,buttherealitiesofcurrentfundingarrangementsmakesignificantprogressonthisfrontunlikely.Amorefinanciallypalatableoptionistopayonlysometeachersmore;inthiscase,thosewithhigherqualifications.Rewardinghigherqualificationscouldeitherbedonesystemicallybysimplyadjustingcurrentsalaryscales,oraspartofamoreradicaldecentralisedsystemofmerit-basedpay,amodelnowfavouredbytheCommonwealthgovernment.Suchmodelshavebeencriticisedfortheirinabilitytodefine‘merit’inatransparentandmeaningfulway.Onedeterminantofthelevelofsalary,however,couldbethelevelofqualification,similartoschedulesadoptedinsomeUSjurisdictions.AsLovatoutlines:‘InPennsylvania,teachersbeyondthetopofthenormalscalecanmovetonewsalarylevelsbyundertakingarangeofprofes-sionaldevelopmentoptions,includingfurtheruniversitytraining.Arelevantmastersattainment,forinstance,canbeworthanextra$15,000andadoctoratethatmuchagain.Theresultisthatateacherwhoneverleavestheclassroomforadministration

Inadequate diversity

is a problem across

higher education.

The percentage of

applicants to Australian

universities from low

socio-economic areas

and non-English

speaking backgrounds,

as well as those

with disabilities or

Indigenous heritage,

has remained largely

unchanged over the

past decade.


Issues


Issues

canelevatesalarybyapproximatelysixtypercent,soenhancingtheirpersonalwealth,lifestyleandearlyretirementoptions.’(Lovat,2003:17)

Whilesuchasalarycalibrationwouldincreasethequalityofthecurrentteach-ingworkforce,itwouldalsoattractmoretalentedapplicantstotheprofession,bothwithinSMTandotherdisciplines.Withorwithoutmerit-basedpay,greaterrecognitionofqualificationsheldwouldleadtoamoreskilledandeducatedwork-force.Dependingontheflexibilityofthegoverningmodel,recognitioncouldapplybothtoformalqualificationssuchasmastersordoctoraldegreesandtolessformalprofessionaldevelopment.Iftheteachingprofessionisacknowledgedtobeascomplexaslaw,medicineandotherprofessions,thisneedstobereflectedintheinvestmentofgovernmentsandinthestructuresofteaching.Commissioningfurtherresearchtoexaminethelinksbetweenpostgraduatestudyandteachingqualitywouldbeausefulfirststepalongthispath.

Increasingthediversityofapplicantsisalsoimportant,andideallytheteachingprofessionwouldbebroadlyreflectiveofthesocietyinwhichitsmembersoperate.Inadequatediversityisaproblemacrosshighereducation.Thepercentageofappli-cantstoAustralianuniversitiesfromlowsocioeconomicareasandnon-Englishspeakingbackgrounds,aswellasthosewithdisabilitiesorIndigenousheritage,has

remainedlargelyunchangedoverthepastdecade.Allofthesegroupsareunder-representedinhighereducation,andtheimbalanceunderlinestheneedforgreatertargetedfundinginthecauseofequity.Teaching,ofcourse,suffersfurtherbyadearthofmaleapplicants,particularlyatprimarylevel.Thisspecificproblemcouldbeaddressedbythemeasuresalreadyoutlinedwhichwouldincreasethestatusoftheprofession,andalsobyopeningupclassrooms.Byintroducingteamteach-ing,byencouragingpara-professionalsandotherexpertsintotheclassroom,andbybreakingdownthe‘oneteacher,oneclassroom’model,theriskofaccusationsofimproprietyagainstmaleteacherswouldbereduced.Inshort,changestotheprofessionitselfaremostlikelytoincreasediversity,ratherthanmeasureswhichsimplybypassuniversitypre-servicedegrees.

currenT ausTralIan moDels AdvocatesofSBTEmaylooktotheBachelorofLearningManagement(BLM)atCentralQueenslandUniversity,reportedintheAugust2006issueofProfessional Educator,asanexampleofthemodelinpractice.TheBLMinvolvesappointingcandidatestoateaching-accreditedschoolfromtheirfirstweekatuniversity,andattemptstoembedstudentsintheworkoftheclassroom.TheprogramhasreceivedahighlyfavourableevaluationinapublishedACERstudy(2005),butthestudyitselfexplicitlyrefutestheideathattheBLMcanbeusedtosupportSBTE:‘Itwouldbeamistaketoassumethatthisstudyprovidessupportforsimplyincreas-ingtheamountoftimefutureteachersspendinschoolsduringtheirtrainingor,worse,formovingresponsibilityforteachereducationoutofuniversitiesandintoschools.’(Ingvarsonetal.,2005:84)

Despitethisdisclaimer, it’spossiblethatadvocatesofSBTEcouldusetheACERstudytosupporttheirargument,oratleasttosupporttheargumentforamuchgreaterpracticalcomponenttoeducationcourses.ThestudyfindsthatBLMgraduatesaremuchbetterpreparedthantraditionallypreparedgraduatesfromCQU,largelybecausetheBLMcourseprovidesstronglinksbetweentheoryandpractice,andanauthenticpartnershipbetweenschools,employingauthoritiesandtheuniversity.(Ingvarsonetal.,2005:81-82)

It’sdifficulttoplaceanyfaithintheseconclusions,however,duetotheinher-entmethodologicalweaknessesofthestudy.Therewerethreeelementsofthe

If the teaching

profession is

acknowledged to

be as complex as

law, medicine and

other professions,

this needs to be

reflected in the

investment of

governments and

in the structures of

teaching.


Issues

Sadly, it’s still necessary

to debunk the myth that

anyone can teach.

Dr Andrew Harvey is the Deputy Director (Academic) of the Bendigo campus of La Trobe University.

For Jennifer Buckingham’s Centre for Independent Studies report, Good Teachers Where They Are Needed, go to www.cis.org.au/IssueAnalysis/ia64/IA64.pdf


ACERstudy:observationalstudyofgraduateteachers;asurveyofgraduateteach-ers;andasurveyofprincipalsatschoolsemployinggraduateteachers.Theinitialobservationalstudyinvolvedjustthirty-oneteacherswhohadgraduatedin2003.EighteenofthesehadgraduatedwithaBLMfromCQU,whilethirteenhadgradu-atedwithaBachelorofEducationfromavarietyofQueenslanduniversities.Thesurveyitselfconcedesthat‘itwasonlypossibletoimplementtoalimitedextenttheplanofusingschoolsthathadbothaBLMgraduateandanon-BLMgraduate,’andthattheselectionofgraduateteachers‘wasmoreopportunisticthanrandom.’(Ingvarsonetal.,2005:19)Theauthorsfurtheracknowledgethatthelocationofthestudy–nearCQU–‘mayhaveledtoabiasinfavouroftheBLMcourse,’andthatthethirteenBachelorofEducationteacherscannotbesaidtoberepresenta-tiveoftheseveralhundredprimaryteachergraduatesacrossQueenslandin2003.(2005:24)Thus,notonlywasthesamplesizesmall,butthecommensurabilityofthetwosetsofgraduateswasquestionableevenbytheauthors’ownadmission.Takentogether,theselimitationsmustcallintoquestionthevalidityofanyfind-ingsrelatedtotheobservationalstudy.

Thesecondelementofthestudywasaquestionnaireofgraduateteachers.Ofapproximately2,000teacherswhohadgraduatedfromaQueensland-basedteacher

educationprogramin2003,536returnedquestionnairesforevaluation.Onceagain,thestatisticalsignificanceofthefindingsisunderminedbythatresponserate–aroundtwenty-sixpercent.Thefinalelementofthestudyinvolvedaques-tionnaireofprincipals,andaskedforfeedbackaboutoneteacherateachschoolwhohadgraduatedfromaQueensland-basedteachereducationprogramin2003.Thequestionnairedeliveredanominalresponserateofforty-fivepercent,butoverhalftherespondentsdidnotindicatethetypeofcourseinwhichtheirteacherhadgraduated.Theeffectiveresponserate,then,wasaroundtwentypercent,whichonceagainmakesthedrawingofanyfirmconclusionsdifficult.

Asitstands,theACERstudyrecommendsmorecontentknowledge,andexplicitlyrefutestheideathatsuchknowledgecouldbeprovidedbySBTE:‘Teachereducationprogramsthatmightbehighly“practical,”inthesenseofgivingheavyemphasistoskillsinclassroommanagementforexample,willnotmakeupfora

deficiencyintheaspectsofcontentknowledgeidentifiedinthisstudy.’(Ingvarsonetal.,2005:60)Thatconclusionisconsistentwiththeargumentforrigorouspre-serviceteachereducationembeddedinaresearchculture.Nevertheless,moreresearchisrequired:theBLMmaywellbeaneffectivemodel,buttheonlyavail-ableresearchintoitsefficacylacksmethodologicalrigour.

Sadly,it’sstillnecessarytodebunkthemyththatanyonecanteach,amyththat’simplicitlyembeddedintheSBTEmodelandonethatcontinuestoreceivesupport from somecommunitygroups and, at times, governments.The caseagainstSBTEisstrong:it’sunlikelytoreduceteachershortages,improvethequal-ityanddiversityofapplicants,orprovideacost-effectivealternativetotraditionalpathways.Itsproponents,however,haveidentifiedanumberofproblemswiththeteachingprofessionthatdodemandpolicyshifts.Pre-serviceeducationshouldbestrengthenednotweakened;rewardsshouldbeprovidedforteacherstoundergoprofessionallearning,whichshoulditselfbewidelyavailable;differentialsalaryscalesshouldbeintroducedtorewardthoseundertakingformalpostgraduatequalifications;andweneedfurtherresearchintotheeffectivenessofdifferentpathwaysintoteaching,thediversityofteachereducationprograms,therelation-shipbetweenteachingqualificationsandquality,andtherootcausesofinequityineducationalprovision.Recognisingthecomplexityofteachingisthefirststeptowardsimprovingitsstatus.


revIews

by Benjamin Marks, Rodney

Marks and Robert Spillane

iSBn 0 855 723 734RRP $19.50

published by Michelle Anderson Publishing

reviewed by Brian Brennan

The management contradictionary

The Management Contradictionary,accordingtoitscover,isabookwhichshouldn’tbejudgedbyitscover.Thatmaximistrueenoughof its frontcover;aquickglanceat thebackcover,however,givesaveryclear insight intothemindsetof itstrioofauthors.BenMarksdescribeshimselfas ‘bornintoslaverytotheCommonwealthofAustralia;healsoworksforthetaxoffice.’RodneyMarks‘isAustralia’s(mis)leadingcomedian,’andRobertSpillane‘haswrittenmorethan110professionalarticlesthatnobodyreads.’Thisisdefinitelyabookforthosewho,liketheauthors,arenotpreparedtotakethemselvestooseriously,orwhowouldliketochallengethosewhodo.

There’satendencyintoday’ssocietyformanagementtobeseenastheanswertoallproblems.Managementlanguageisevolvingatanexponentialratetocaterforthemultitudeofissuesit’ssupposedtobeabletoaddress.Thosewhodon’tfullyunderstandthisnewlanguagearethoughttobeoutoftouchandobviouslynotsuitedtohigherlevelsofmanagerialleadership.Eveneducationisbeinginfiltrated,slowlybutsurely,bythepseudo-scientificjargonofbusinessmanagement.Butwait.WhatisThe Management Contradictionarydefinitionofleadership?‘Leadership,’theauthorsexplain,is‘Whataleaderdoes.Andaleadershowsleadership.Onlyaleadercanseethisapparentparadoxastruth.Thecorollariesofthistruthare:(a)ifyouthinkthisreasoningiscircular,you’llnevermakeittothetop,and(b)ifyou’renotconfused,thenyoureallydon’tunderstandwhat’sgoingon.’Ifyou’rereallyconfused,however,it’sprobablybesttocheckthemeaningofaparadox:‘Whenamanagersays:“Allmanagersareliars.”’Hmm.

Thinkforamomentofsomeofthemanagementlanguagethatwassoreadilybandiedaroundatyourlaststafforfacultymeeting.Didyourleadersorcolleaguesusewordslikeaccountability,addedvalue,changemanagement,competence,life-longlearning,multi-tasking,relevance,seniormanagementteam,vision?Didyoureallyfeelyouunderstoodwhatthesetermsmeant?Here’showThe Management Contradictionary definessomeofthem.

Changemanagement:fallaciousbeliefthatpeoplewanttochangetheirworkbehaviourorthat,eveniftheywantto,theycan.Apopularwaytoimplementachangemanagementprogramistochangemanagement.

Competence:gettingawaywithit.Relevance:thestandardbywhichalleducationisjudgedirrelevant.Seniormanagementteam:oligarchythatthinksitisanaristocracy.Inthehecticpaceoftoday’sworld,it’sdisconcertingtonotehoweasilymany

peoplehavebecomebrainwashedintoreadilyacceptingthatjargonandclichéscansomehowencapsulateenduringtruths.Marks,MarksandSpillanehavesetouttoreversethistrendbyprovidingalternativedefinitionstoover1,000managementterms.The Management Contradictionaryprovokesnewandhumorouswaysofthinkingaboutcommonlyacceptedinterpretationsofthesewordsandphrases.Theresultisasurprisinglyentertainingdictionarywhich,onceread,willneveragainallowyoutoapatheticallyacceptmindlesslinguisticobfuscation.

Inmostworkplaceswefindpeopleinmanagerialpositionswho,onsomeocca-sions,haveaproclivitytotakethemselvesalittletooseriously.The Management Contradictionary isatimelypublicationwhichmayjustbeaneffectiveresourcetohelpyouhelpthemtocombattheproliferationofpseudo-scientificbusinessmanagementjargon.

Brian Brennanis a Senior Education Officer

– Secondaryat the Catholic Education Office,

Sandhurst.


The DIary

17-1� mayevent‘Middle schooling: reaching New Heights, building our Future’ 5th international Conference of the Middle Years of schooling AssociationIncreaseyourknowledgeandunderstand-ingofadolescence,andofpositivelearningenvironmentstohelpbuildbrightandrewardingfuturesforyoungpeople.placeConradJupiters,GoldCoastphone0738441138fax0738440909emailmysa2007@icms.com.auwebwww.mysa2007.com.au

1�-17 JuneeventThe Alliance of Girls schools Australasia Annual ConferenceTheAllianceofGirlsSchoolsAustralasiaconferenceaddresses:leadershipineducationtomentoranddevelopstaff;demo-graphictrendsingirls’education;knowledgemanagement,learningcommunitiesandchangemanage-

ment;andtheuseofdatatoinformteachingandlearning.Thisyear’sconferenceishostedbyLauristonGirls’School.placeLauristonGirls’School,MelbournecontactJanButler,ExecutiveOfficerphone0734882686emailjan.butler@internode.on.netwebsitewww.agsa.org.au

6-� Julyevent21st biennial Conference of the Australian Association of Mathematics Teachers ‘Mathematics: essential for learning, essential for life’The21stAAMTconferenceisachance

forteachersandresearcherstoworktogether,andshareideas.There’salsoadayofjointsessionswiththeconferenceoftheMathematicsEducationResearchGroupof

Australasia.placeUniversityofTasmania,HobartcontactAAMTemailoffice@aamt.edu.auphone0883630288fax0883629288websitewww.aamt.edu.au/2007

2� July-1 augusT eventDirections for Catholic educational Leadership in the 21st Century: The Vision, Challenges and reality4thInter-nationalConferenceonCatholicEducationalLeadershiphostedbyACUwillfocusonnewleadershipviewsandparadigmsforaglobal-isedandrapidlychangingworld.emailconferences@acu.edu.auwebsitewww.acu.edu.au/conferences

12-14 augusTevent‘The Leadership Chal-lenge: improving learning in schools’ The 2007 research Conference of the Australian Council for educational researchTheconferencewilladdresskeyissuesrelatedtobuildingleadershipinschoolsthatmakesadifferencetostudentlearningoutcomes.placeGrandHyattHotel,MelbournecontactMargaretTaylor,ConferenceSecretariat,ACERCentreforProfessionalLearningphone0398357403fax0398357457

[email protected]/workshops/conferences.html

1�-26 augusTeventNational science WeekCelebratescienceandtechnologyinyourschoolduringNationalScienceWeek.emailscienceweek@dest.gov.auwebsitehttp://www.scienceweek.info.au

30 sePTember-3 ocToberevent‘The roaring Forties: Winds of change’ Australian secondary Principals Association National ConferenceASPA’s2007conferenceisanopportunityforeducatorstosailintoHobartanddiscoverwhat’sgoingon.placeHotelGrandChancellor,Hobartwebsitehttp://www.aspa.asn.au

3-� ocTobereventAustralian school Library Association’s biennial National conference ‘Hearts on Fire: sharing the Passion – Learning, Literature and Literacies’ASLAXXisanationalforumforteacherlibrarians,schoollibrarystaff,informationspecialists,schoolleaders,classroomteachersandschoollibraryacademicstosharetheirknowledge.placeAdelaideConventionCentrecontactAleksDuricphone0294379333emailaleks@conferenceaction.com.auwebsitewww.asla.org.au/pd/conference

Want to know about professional development opportunities, conferences and just plain useful stuff? The Diary tells you what’s on.


as I see IT

Tampering with a

universal law

Danny Katz explains why having your teacher

in your house is wrong.

MYsucky-crawlyparents.Canyoubelievewhattheydidtome?Everyyearofmyprimaryschooltheywouldcommitthemostflagrantlyabusiveactofpeachyover-eagersaccharinesucky-crawliness...andactually...invitemyteacher...roundfordinner.MYCLASSROOMTEACHERWOULDENTERMYHOUSEANDSITATMYTABLEANDEATFOODWITHMEANDMYFAMILYINANON-EDUCATIONALCONTEXT.Itwaswrong,verywrong.Havingyourteacherinsideyourownhomeistamperingwithuniversallaws–it’sliketryingtoforcetogetherbakedbeanswithicecream,orsandalswithsocks,orAvrilLavignewithHilaryDuff.

Idon’tknowwhymyparentsdidit:maybetheythoughtitwasthepolitethingtodo,ormaybetheywantedtomeetnewfriends,ormaybetheywantedtodiscussthestateofmymentaldevelopment,becausebytheageofsevenIwasstillhavingtroublewithmytwo-timestables,andIcouldn’tpeestandingup.Whatevertherea-son,itwasamuch-dreadedannualexperience;thefirstteachertheyinvitedroundwasMrsGaffnee,myGradeTwoteacher.Sheshoweduponenightwithabottleofwine,andmyparentssatherdownandtheyallchatted,LIKETHEYWEREBUDDIES–evencallingherbyherfirstname,Helen.SINCEWHENDIDMRSGAFFNEEHAVEAFIRSTNAME?Iremembersittingatthedinnertable,notsayingaword,watchingthemeatinganddrinkingandlaughing,thinkingtomyself‘Imightjustgrabthatpairofsaladtongsfromthethree-beansalad...andramthemthroughmyownthroat.’BECAUSETHISWASMYSCHOOLTEACHER:thewomanwhomademestaybackonFridaystofinishmysubtraction,whomademepickuprubbishatlunchtimefordrawingawillyonmyworksheet,whogavemeaBforabrilliantstoryIwrotecalled‘MyTripToTheZoo,’whileGlennLudlowgotanA,andhiswascrap,hedidn’tevenknowhowtospell‘armadillo.’

Thenateight-thirty,whenitwastimeformetogotobed,Ihadtosaygood-nightTOMYTEACHER,wearingmyseahorsejammiesINFRONTOFMYTEACHER,thenIheadedofftomybedroomWHILEMYTEACHERHUNGOUTINMYHOUSE,ATMYTABLE,WITHMYPARENTS.Itwasfreaky,lyinginbed,listeningtothemchattingandlaughinguntillate,everynowandthenhearingoddmuffledwordslike‘Danny’and‘standing’and‘pee,’thenmorelaughing.

Thenextmorning,onmywaytoschool,Iwonderedhowthiswouldchangemyschoollife–wasMrsGaffneestillmyteacher,orwassheafamilyfriendnow?–andwerewesupposedtohangouttogetherduringlunchtime,chitter-chattingbesidetheGestetnermachine?THEFABRICOFTHESCHOOL-HOMESPACE-TIMECONTINUUMWASALTEREDFOREVER.WhenMrsGaffneefinallywalkedintotheclassroom,weallsaid‘GoodmorningMissGaffnee’andshesaid‘Goodmorningchildren–oh,andDanny,youtellyourparentsthatIhadaverypleasantdinneratyourhouselastnight.AndbythewayIreallylikeyourseahorsejammies!’Isaid‘Thankyou....Helen,’andatrecessIgotsuchatitty-twisterfromGlennLudlow,thirty-fiveyearslaterIstillstruggletofindoneofmynipples.

Manyotherteacherscametoourhouseovermyprimaryschoolyears,eachdinnermoretraumaticthanthelast:MrsElliotcameroundwithabottleofwine,andMrMaronshowedupwithabottleofwine,andevenoldPrincipalMealywasinvitedroundonenight–hebroughtabottleofwine,andworehisnylonhair-piecebacktofront,sothesideburnskeptgettingcaughtonhisears.

Ashumiliatingasallthesedinnerpartieswere,IsupposeIdidlearnanimpor-tantlife-lessonfromthem:theymademerealisethatteachersarepeoplelikeany-bodyelse–they’vegotfirstnames,they’vegotfamilies,theylikeagoodlaugh,andtheyenjoynicefood.Andmostofall.....theyreallyseemtolikedrinkingwine.Theydrinklotsandlotsofbottlesofwine.

Documents

volume 6 • number 1 • march 2007 Professional educator · 2018. 5. 24. · professional educator • vol 6, no. 1 • march 2007 1 march 2007 ProfessIonal eDucaTor abn 19 004