(2017). VET Retention in Remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities. Good Practice Guide. National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) This good practice guide is based on the research project "Enhancing training advantage for remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learners" by John Guenther et al. on behalf of Ninti One Limited. The project examines five unique and successful vocational education and training (VET) programs in remote areas and identifies how retention and completion can be improved (to improve employability) and what other indicators of success (apart from completion) are important outcomes of training in remote communities. The project makes a vital contribution to furthering our understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander experiences with VET in remote areas and explores the factors that boost engagement and retention in training and ensure that training meets the needs of these learners and their communities. This good practice guides synthesises the findings of the five case studies and looks at the factors that are important in enabling retention and ensuring good… [PDF]

McVicar, Duncan; Tabasso, Domenico (2016). The Impact of Disadvantage on VET Completion and Employment Gaps. Research Report. National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) Increasing educational attainment is generally tied to better employment outcomes. The vocational education and training (VET) sector is often used as an entry point into post-compulsory education for individuals who have experienced disadvantage in their lives. But does increasing participation in VET by disadvantaged individuals necessarily lead to the same benefits as experienced by their non-disadvantaged peers? Specifically, do disadvantaged learners have similar completion rates and employment outcomes as their non-disadvantaged peers? Using data from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research's (NCVER's) National VET Provider Collection and the Student Outcomes Survey, the authors find both completion and employment gaps exist between different groups of disadvantaged learners and their non-disadvantaged peers, but that closing the completion gap will not necessarily result in the closing of the employment gap. The following appendices are included: (1) Additional… [PDF]

Constant, Ron (2014). Qualities of a Good First Nation School. BU Journal of Graduate Studies in Education, v6 n1 p39-42. In the continual reformation of the nature of schools, one central theme appears: the concept of a good school. A good school has a clear sense of purpose, dedicated staff, strong leadership, parental involvement, and continual improvement. To transform current educational pedagogy, one must take risks, read the literature, and seek the desire continually to improve. These qualities are desirable in every good school, but they are essential in a good First Nation school…. [PDF]

den Heyer, Kent; van Kessel, Cathryn (2015). Evil, Agency, and Citizenship Education. McGill Journal of Education, v50 n1. We all have a sense of evil, but many of us do not ponder its nature or the ways in which our beliefs about evil shape what we teach and learn about the actions of citizens in historical or contemporary times. We argue that the word and concept of evil can be detrimental to the development of good citizens when it is used as a political and educational shibboleth to shut down critical thought about traumatic historical and contemporary events. Read through the work of Hannah Arendt and Alain Badiou, however, a pedagogical engagement with our understandings of evil offers an opportunity to learn from difficult events in a way that might inform contemporary action towards a less violent future…. [Direct]

Fletcher, Janet; Hogben, John; Lalara, Rhoda Dugurruru; Neilson, Roslyn; Reid, Corinne (2015). Examining the Quality of Phonological Representations in Anindilyakwa Children in Australia. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, v50 n6 p842-848 Nov-Dec. Background: In attempting to evaluate an intervention programme designed to improve English literacy outcomes in children in a remote indigenous community in Australia, the need for valid and culturally appropriate measures of the factors likely to impact on literacy development became apparent. One factor considered likely to be of importance was the precision of the children's phonological representations. Aims: To develop a measure of phonological representations that was culturally relevant for Anindilyakwa children and to evaluate its reliability and concurrent validity against English measures that are known to be predictive of literacy outcomes. Methods & Procedures: Starting from the Quality of Phonological Representations test (QPR), the authors developed an Anindilyakwa Quality of Phonological Representations test (AQPR) and examined its reliability and concurrent validity. Outcomes & Results: The AQPR was found to have acceptable reliability and to correlate… [Direct]

Parr, Judy M.; Timperley, Helen S. (2015). Exemplifying a Continuum of Collaborative Engagement: Raising Literacy Achievement of At-Risk Students in New Zealand. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, v20 n1-2 p29-41. This article reports different ways researchers work with stakeholders in national projects targeted at raising achievement of students. Specifically, New Zealand has a persistent high performance-low equity profile in international tests, with indigenous Maori students and immigrants from the Pacific Islands most at risk of underachievement and of leaving school without qualifications. Policy has aimed to address this issue largely through provision of high-quality professional development to enhance effectiveness of practice. The notion of a continuum of collaboration is proposed; examples are presented that are positioned at different points in terms of the ideal of coconstructed, evidence-based judgments and decisions. The examples represent models or ways of working and the analysis captures both the varied nature of the interface that researchers have with policy makers, ministry officials, deliverers of professional development, and schools, and the affordances and tensions… [Direct]

Bennett, Dawn; Power, Anne (2015). Moments of Becoming: Experiences of Embodied Connection to Place in Arts-Based Service Learning in Australia. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, v43 n2 p156-168. The experience of place in arts-based service learning (ABSL) is personal. It can be difficult to define and challenging to share and build upon. This paper, reporting from a national ABSL project involving three Australian universities, is concerned with experiences of place in forming professional teacher identity. Using a narrative methodology in presenting the stories of six people, pre-service teachers and Indigenous community members, the paper draws on a number of different theoretical frameworks to explore each participant's experience and its longer-term impact on their thinking. The participant stories revealed the value of spaces between art-making, teaching, and research. The learning experiences led pre-service teachers to reflect deeply in relation to self and to consider the impact of their experiences on both current and future professional interactions. As anticipated, participants found it difficult to communicate these elemental experiences in the written word. The… [Direct]

Che, S. Megan; Dogbey, James; Hallo, Jeffrey; Quigely, Cassie F. (2015). Shared Understandings: Environmental Perspectives of Kenyan Community Members and Teachers. Environmental Education Research, v21 n7 p1079-1104. Environmental issues are a shared human concern as communities in all nations and geographic regions are grappling with environmental degradation. Despite this concern, there are multiple different viewpoints on the current state of environmental issues and how to understand these problems. Understanding how different communities conceive of the environment and sustainability is paramount in efforts to increase the frequency of environmentally conscious choices. If an awareness of others' perspectives of the environment is lacking, then the development of sustainable choices is placed at risk because of potentially competing views of what sustainability means in a particular context. As such, solutions to these environmental problems are frequently viewed as "wicked problems.'"This study investigates the shared and divergent environmental viewpoints of teachers and community members in Kenya. This study utilized photo-methodologies and qualitative in vivo analysis. The… [Direct]

Mills, Martin; Pini, Barbara (2015). Constructing the Rural in Education: The Case of "Outback Kids" in Australia. British Journal of Sociology of Education, v36 n4 p577-594. The majority of the still limited literature on education in non-metropolitan areas adopts an understanding of rurality as a fixed and known geographic entity. This paper departs from such a functionalist perspective to explore how rurality is constructed in a programme for at-risk teenagers in remote Australia. Drawing on a range of texts about the programme, including a documentary series entitled "Outback Kids," we examine how the rural space is imagined as simultaneously therapeutic and disciplining and therefore appropriate for troubled youth. Alongside this discussion we map the way in which other qualities and values associated with bifurcated definitions of the rural as a place of tradition and authenticity, and the urban as a place of disorder and pretence, are engaged in the texts to endorse the programme and its practices…. [Direct]

Balbuena, Sherwin E.; Cantoria, Amancio L., Jr.; Cantoria, Uranus E.; Ferriol, Eny B. (2015). Min√°sbate Equivalents of Mathematical Concepts: Their Socio-Cultural Undertones. Online Submission, Asia Pacific Journal of Education, Arts and Sciences v2 n1 p37-43 Jan. This paper presents the collection and analysis of Min√°sbate equivalents of some concepts used in the study of arithmetic, counting, and geometry as provided by the elderly residents of the province of Masbate. The glossary of mathematical terms derived from interviews would serve as an authoritative reference for mother tongue teachers in the local primary schools. Some implications on the locality's historical and socio-cultural landscapes were deduced from the scrutiny of terminologies, such as the assimilation of foreign and neighbouring languages and the predominance of representational thinking among the natives…. [PDF]

Hawera, Ngarewa; Taylor, Merilyn (2015). Calculating for Probability: "He Koretake Te Rima" (Five Is Useless). Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia, Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Mathematics Education Research Group of Australasia (MERGA) (38th, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia, 2015). In Maori medium schools, research that investigates children's mathematical computation with number and connections they might make to mathematical ideas in other strands is limited. This paper seeks to share ideas elicited in a task-based observation and interview with one child about the number ideas she utilises to solve a problem requiring probabilistic thinking. The explanations provided by the child demonstrate how early number and spatial patterns can impact on computation, ease of determining possible outcomes and assigning a numerical probability measure to an event…. [PDF]

Deer, Frank (2013). Integrating Aboriginal Perspectives in Education: Perceptions of Pre-Service Teachers. Canadian Journal of Education, v36 n2 p175-211. This study explored teacher candidates' perceptions of the potentialities and challenges associated with the integration of Aboriginal perspectives into mainstream education. Participants in this study were 2nd-year teacher candidates of a two-year teacher education programme who have completed a course on Aboriginal education. Using a qualitative approach, the principal investigator conducted interviews with teacher candidates in an effort to acquire data on pre-service teacher perceptions of and attitudes towards Aboriginal perspectives as a field of study and practice. This study found that while some participants reported a great deal of comfort in the study and delivery of Aboriginal perspectives in their respective school experiences, a significant number of participants reported apprehension. The findings of this study suggest that there are a number of variables that may lend to a positive experience for teacher candidates who are responsible for integrating Aboriginal… [PDF] [Direct]

Rowe, Sharon (2013). A Haole in a Halau: Situating Identity, Practicing Learning. Educational Perspectives, v46 n1-2 p23-30. In this paper I look at a set of teaching techniques and practices that I experienced as a student of traditional hula over the past twenty years. I explain the practices of ho'ike (testing by showing what one knows), 'aiha'a (getting grounded), pa'a ka waha/ ho'olohe (hold the mouth/ listen), and learning without palapala (paper) as I have experienced them in halau hula (hula school). I discuss how these practices have challenged my assumptions about teaching and impacted my understanding of the learning process and my identity as a learner. I then isolate key values that I find interwoven throughout these practices, but which I find largely absent in our contemporary, Western educational institutions. I conclude with a discussion of what I call a pedagogy of respect. This concept, which I have drawn from my experience as a haumana hula (hula student), has helped me to clarify my identity both as an educator and a learner, and has increasingly informed my own teaching practice…. [PDF]

McAteer, Mary; Wood, Lesley (2018). Decolonising Knowledge: Enacting the Civic Role of the University in a Community-Based Project. South African Journal of Education, v38 n4 Article 1662 Nov. The need to work in partnership with communities in a meaningful and impactful way has become a core part of university planning in many countries around the world. In the Global South, the potential for the Eurocentric knowledges and power structures to dominate such partnerships is pervasive. This article reports on findings of a participatory action research project conducted with community members in a socio-economically disadvantaged community in South Africa who had identified a need to improve school-community cooperation in educating local children. Analysis of our findings, framed against broader cultural and historical contexts, suggests that when the role of university-based 'experts' is one of facilitation rather than 'delivery,' then not only is participation more effective, but, also, the process and products of knowledge democratisation can be realised more effectively. We thus provide unique insight into the way relationships between the university and the community… [PDF]

Macrander, Ashley, Ed.; Staudt, Nancy, Ed.; Tate, William F., IV, Ed. (2016). The Crisis of Race in Higher Education: A Day of Discovery and Dialogue. Diversity in Higher Education. Volume 19. Diversity in Higher Education The compendium of writings in this edited volume sheds light on the event "Race & Ethnicity: A Day of Discovery and Dialogue" at Washington University in St. Louis and the work current students, faculty, and staff are doing to improve inclusivity on campus and in St. Louis. The book includes speeches, reflections, art, and photography aligned with the Day of Discovery and Dialogue in addition to original academic work on race in higher education, race in St. Louis, and race in the United States. Leading scholars and emerging voices feature in this volume, filling a void in the race and higher education literature since it will foreground a case study of a single university at the epicenter of a national racial crisis and how a university-wide event brought a campus together. This praxis focus may have far reaching impact in aiding other universities across the country in addressing racial tensions in their own communities…. [Direct]

White, Simone (2015). Extending the Knowledge Base for (Rural) Teacher Educators. Australian and International Journal of Rural Education, v25 n3 p50-61. This paper, and its position within this special issue, seeks to contribute to the growing discussion and debates about the importance of adding the 'rural' to all matters 'education'. Advocating that indeed rurality is everybody's business, not just for those who live in rural places. The central argument of 'adding the rural' is that in its absence, 'a metro-urban normative approach' (Green, 2013) remains the dominant position thereby marginalising and silencing those who live beyond the city. In this paper I seek to contribute further to the debate and explore the notion of 'adding the rural' to teacher educators' knowledge base and their professional learning. I thus examine the 'good theoretical tools' (Corbett, 2016) that "all" teacher educators might need to equip themselves with, in order to be inclusive of rural students' needs. To think through this question I revisit and draw from the growing rural education literature and recent rural studies, identifying three… [Direct]

Charvon, Guillaume; Chase, Elaine (2016). Understanding 'Education for All' in Contexts of Extreme Poverty: Experiences from Burkina Faso. Journal of International and Comparative Education, v5 n2 p103-114. This paper examines the meanings attached to Education for All from the often ignored or misunderstood perspectives of people living in extreme poverty. Allowing people to voice their own understandings of the difficulties they face offers new insights into the essence of the tension between the worlds of reproduction and innovation and the possibilities of achieving harmony between them. Community meanings attached to Education for All were explored by way of a major participatory, action-oriented research project conducted in contexts of poverty in Burkina Faso. The study noted that the experience of poverty and famine influence the value that parents and children attached to formal education, and therefore their interest and ability to engage with it. Community-based education, for example, helped to reproduce knowledge associated with day-to-day living and achieving, at least, a basic livelihood. Formal schooling, on the other hand, was associated with developing new… [PDF]

Brussino, Ottavia (2020). Mapping Policy Approaches and Practices for the Inclusion of Students with Special Education Needs. OECD Education Working Papers, No. 227. OECD Publishing Across OECD countries, there are various and diverse policy approaches in place to promote inclusive education systems for students with special education needs (SEN), understood as learning disabilities, physical impairments and disorders related to mental health. Analysing current policies in place across OECD countries and investigating advantages and disadvantages of diverse policy approaches for students with SEN is important when acknowledging non-negligible disparities in terms of enrolment, graduation, and employment outcomes for students with SEN across OECD countries. Overall, educational approaches to address students with SEN have historically shifted from placing students in special school settings to more mainstream education environments. However, differences still exist in the extent to which students are mainstreamed in schools with the rest of the students. Furthermore, education systems differ in the way they design and implement governance arrangements, resourcing… [Direct]

Edmunds, T. Keith (2017). Perceived Barriers to SME-College Collaboration: The Case of the Province of Manitoba. College Quarterly, v20 n2. Since their creation, community colleges have had a mandate to be responsive to their communities, often through relationships with local business. As globalization and technological advancements increase pressure on small businesses (SMEs), the role of colleges in helping these SMEs to innovate in order to survive becomes clearer. Relationships between colleges and SMEs, however, are often balked by a number of barriers as perceived by individuals within the college system. This paper begins to examine the relationship between these entities through a series of interviews with individuals within the Manitoba community college system. An analysis of these conversations reveals seven distinct categories of perceived barriers…. [PDF]

Smith, Bryan (2014). Confronting Race and Colonialism: Experiences and Lessons Learned from Teaching Social Studies. in education, v20 n1 p25-39 Sum. Literature on teacher education and encounters with race highlight some of the difficulties that teacher candidates face when they confront their own racialized subjectivities. However, many of these projects focus exclusively on Whiteness studies, explicating how White teacher candidates come to witness their own racialized Whiteness in relation to their epistemological understandings of the world. In this paper, I diverge from this pattern of thought, exploring a subset of the tenets of critical race theory, that of silences and exclusions, pervading my own teaching in a primary/junior social studies methods class and exploring how these structured my lessons. Specifically, I look at how counternarratives, critiques against liberalism, and multiculturalism and encounters with racialized and colonial supremacy were involved in my pedagogical strategies. I conclude by suggesting that although these methods may seem daunting for the primary/junior classroom, they can provide valuable… [PDF]

Sobhani, Nima (2016). Global Tides, Samoan Shores: Samoan Policy Actors' Responses to the Shifting Conditions of Education Aid and Postcolonial Possibilities for Education Reform. Educational Studies: Journal of the American Educational Studies Association, v52 n5 p469-489. In the years since Samoan independence in 1962, and especially over the past 2 decades, the landscape of education aid to the Pacific Island nation of Samoa has changed dramatically as a result of ongoing geopolitical shifts and emerging global designs. Some of these include: rapid globalization across all spheres of human activity; the economic rise of Asia and the growing economic, cultural, and political role that China is now playing in the region; and shifts in the modus operandi of traditional donors such as Australia, all amidst continued talk of development partnerships and a post-2015 development agenda. These changes have affected Samoa in various ways and will continue to have tremendous implications for future education and development policy and practice. This article examines the emerging context in Samoa by analyzing data from semistructured interviews with a number of policy actors across different sectors of Samoan society, to obtain an understanding of the… [Direct]

Dimitrov, Nanda; Haque, Aisha (2016). Intercultural Teaching Competence: A Multi-Disciplinary Model for Instructor Reflection. Intercultural Education, v27 n5 p437-456. This article presents a model for Intercultural Teaching Competence (ITC) that instructors may use as a tool for reflection as they prepare to facilitate learning across cultures. Building on previous research on intercultural competence, culturally relevant teaching, intercultural trainer competencies, and student-centred approaches to teaching, the model identifies concrete facilitation techniques for instructors who would like to further develop their own teaching practice or mentor colleagues in effective teaching across cultures. The model consists of 20 instructor competencies grouped into three categories: foundational skills, facilitation skills, and curriculum development skills for intercultural learning. While intended as a tool to guide instructors in individual and group reflection on inclusive teaching practices, the ITC model may also be used by educational developers to guide feedback during classroom observations or while supporting curriculum internationalisation… [Direct]

Onodugo, Chris Ifeanyi; Onodugo, Vincent (2015). Impact of Socio-Cultural Factors on Entrepreneurial Development in Nigeria. African Educational Research Journal, v3 n4 p246-254 Dec. Entrepreneur development takes place within a framework of forces that constitute the system environment, which are either external or internal. A critical issue in the entrepreneurial development and growth is firms' ability to adapt to their strategies to a rapidly changing system environment to which the entrepreneurs' role is critical to the success or failure of such firm. For the entrepreneur to be successful, he must be able to identify and find a useful niche within the large environment where it takes risk, makes strategic business plan and takes/implements decisions. The various institutions and forces which determine the success or failure of the entrepreneur is the habitat also referred to as eco-system or critical factors affecting the entrepreneur who is equally dependent on the stability of the environment within which he operates. Environmental stability exists in various degrees. Strategic management of the environment is required for entrepreneurial development to… [PDF]

Mukwambo, Muzwangowenyu (2016). Trainee Teachers' Experiences Using Contextual Teaching and Learning: Implications for Incorporation of Indigenous Knowledge in Instructional Design. Pedagogical Research, v1 n1 p3-12. Some schools do not have local formal work environments enabling learners to interact with members in community of practice. This is noticeable in schools in developing countries, including the north eastern Zambezi Region of Namibia, where the study took place. To close the gap in which trainee science and mathematics teachers who were the participants failed to contextualize teaching and learning (CTL) using formal work situations, this qualitative study investigated use of Indigenous Knowledge (IK) practices as an alternative. A cultural group presented IK practices which trainees observed and participated. Pottery making, an IK practice, reflects Science knowledge which teachers sometimes shun. Audio-visual, lesson plans, and interviews were also used to generate data. To intervene Cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) was used as a tool. Revelations are trainee teachers in rural schools initially viewed CTL designing as impossible. Further, trainees engaged with CTL through… [PDF]

Berryman, Mere; Ford, Therese; Nevin, Ann; SooHoo, Suzanne (2015). Culturally Responsive Contexts: Establishing Relationships for Inclusion. International Journal of Special Education, v30 n3 p39-51. As our education systems become more culturally, ethnically and linguistically diverse, rather than benefiting and learning from each other, we still expect all students to be represented within the same curriculum, pedagogy and testing regimen or we form separate enclaves resulting in marginalizaton. When diverse students have physical and/or learning disabilities, marginalization is further exacerbated and problematized. In this paper, the authors theorise within an alternative framework that we have termed relational and culturally responsive inclusion. Based on key understandings from our own research, much of it derived from Kaupapa Maori and Freirean philosophies, we encourage a framework where establishing respectful relationships of interdependence with people is central to both human dignity and praxis. A culturally responsive framework such as this challenges traditional notions of the professional expert working with objectivity; instead it opens up spaces that call for… [PDF]

Claypool, Tim R.; Preston, Jane P. (2013). Motivators of Educational Success: Perceptions of Grade 12 Aboriginal Students. Canadian Journal of Education, v36 n4 p257-279. The purpose of this paper is to identify motivators that support educational success, as perceived by Aboriginal high school students enrolled in two urban Saskatchewan schools. Twelve semi-structured individual interviews revealed that students were motivated by a hospitable school culture, relevant learning opportunities, and positive personal influences outside the realm of the school (e.g., family role models and Elder influence). Utilizing an Aboriginal worldview lens, student motivation stemmed from experiencing four quadrants of learning–awareness (physical), knowledge (mental), continuous improvement (emotional), and perseverance (spiritual). An implication is that educators need to incorporate features of Aboriginal pedagogy when teaching…. [PDF] [Direct]

Nelson, Dawn (2011). Welcome to Minnesota. Knowledge Quest, v39 n5 p46-49 May-Jun. There is more than snow in Minnesota: Summer brings the Aquatennial with sandcastle competitions, milk-carton-boat races and a torchlight parade, and the St. Paul Winter Carnival has ice carving and snow sculptures and another torchlight parade. But natives and visitors alike note that their favorite season is autumn, which in Minnesota brings crisp temperatures, sapphire-blue skies, brilliant foliage, and in October of 2011, AASL's 15th National Conference and Exhibition. In this article, the author features Minnesota where AASL 15th National Conference and Exhibition was held…. [Direct]

Boutieri, Charis (2013). Inheritance, Heritage, and the Disinherited: Ambiguities of Religious Pedagogy in the Moroccan Public School. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, v44 n4 p363-380 Dec. This article investigates how Moroccan public high-school students experience religious pedagogy. Probing the linguistic ideology that underpins their religious training, the article exposes the ambiguities inherent in educational Arabization, a project set on safeguarding the state's sacredness while mediating an agenda of indigenous modernization. Student skepticism toward the state's moral authority indicates that religious pedagogy must be explored through the lenses of process and approximation with an attention to paradoxes, ironies, and unanticipated outcomes…. [Direct]

Mahmut Sami Ozturk Ed.; Mevlut Unal Ed.; Muhammet Demirbilek Ed. (2023). Proceedings of International Conference on Studies in Education and Social Sciences (Antalya, Turkey, October 20-23, 2023). Volume 1. International Society for Technology, Education, and Science "Proceedings of International Conference on Studies in Education and Social Sciences" includes full papers presented at the International Conference on Studies in Education and Social Sciences (ICSES) which took place on October 20-23, 2023, in Antalya, Turkey. The aim of the conference is to offer opportunities to share ideas, to discuss theoretical and practical issues and to connect with the leaders in the fields of education and social sciences. The conference is organized annually by the International Society for Technology, Education, and Science (ISTES). The ICSES invites submissions which address the theory, research, or applications in all disciplines of education and social sciences. The ICSES is organized for: faculty members in all disciplines of education and social sciences, graduate students, K-12 administrators, teachers, principals and all interested in education and social sciences. After peer-reviewing process, all full papers are published in the… [PDF]

(2018). Research Messages 2017. National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) This report brings together research publicly released by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) over the year. The 2017 compilation reflects an extensive collection of NCVER research activities undertaken during 2017, comprising reports, summaries, infographics, occasional papers, presentations and webinars. NCVER has organized their research program into three priority areas: (1) Structures and systems for skilling and learning; (2) The impact of vocational education and training; and (3) Teaching and learning. Summaries of projects that were published under each of these priorities are presented in this report. [For the previous year, "Research Messages 2016," see ED573529.]… [PDF]