PUBLIC EDUCATION VOICE JOURNAL OF THE AUSTRALIAN EDUCATION UNION - ACT BRANCH • March 2010
LEAGUE TABLES
AEU’s Position U-Can READ
A program endorsing and using current best practice in literacy interventions for years 3-10
ROSEMARY RICHARDS’ AWARD Nominations now open
40 Brisbane Ave Barton ACT 2600 • P (02) 6272 7900 • F (02) 6273 1828 • www.aeuact.asn.au
As the debate on League Tables hots up, what’s the AEU’s position? Welcome back to another year of debate and turmoil in the education sector!
The current focus of attention is the “league tables debate” around the value and validity of ranking schools based on their results in a mass standardised testing regime. The AEU opposes the misuse of data from tests such as NAPLAN to create simplistic league tables ranking schools. Such tables have a high margin for error, use the data for a comparative purpose for which it was never intended, stigmatise schools by “naming and shaming”, and don’t actually provide parents with any information that could not be gained from the school. The “like school” groupings have caused significant concern about their accuracy, with apparent disparity in the resource bases of schools in the same “like school” grouping. The AEU has warned of the problems caused to schools by the misuse of data for some time, and the Union is not the only stakeholder with concerns. A number of academics have released papers criticising the use of NAPLAN and similar data to rank schools. A useful diagnostic tool has been twisted by the media and other interests for their own profit – note the 854-page book ranking all schools across Australia that was released recently for $97! Based on the flawed data from the My School website, the book creates a range of lists ranking schools by different attributes … all this in the face of academic analysis that says the data is frequently flawed and the comparisons drawn are inaccurate. The experience in the US and UK has absolutely been a narrowing of
curriculum while teachers privilege those matters covered in the NAPLANequivalent test. And why would anyone be surprised by that outcome? If what matters is your ranking in a list of schools, if that’s the basis on which the success of your school will be judged, of course schools will do all they can to teach to the test and lift their school’s performance. In Victoria there have already been written directions issued to schools about their preparation and practice for NAPLAN 2010, with a memo exposed on 5 February directing teachers to “explicitly teach” to the NAPLAN tests in order to improve overall literacy and numeracy results in Victoria. According to The Australian, which obtained a copy of the memo, the directive tells principals to appoint a NAPLAN coordinator and offers a “blueprint for classroom approaches” that includes coaching skills for passing the tests such as learning the “test question vocabulary” and “skim and scan”. While ACT teachers haven’t had written directives they have certainly heard the message loud and clear, with Minister Barr reportedly supporting the concentration of curriculum on the test items, and saying that he saw no issue with a narrowing of the curriculum that would result from such an approach. The profession remains dismayed at Australia’s willingness to follow in the failed footsteps of other education systems. At the Australian Education Union Federal Conference on 19 January 2010, representatives from teacher unions in all States and Territories unanimously endorsed a resolution on league tables, part of which reads:
Given our ethical and professional responsibility to our students and broader school communities, the Federal Conference of the AEU resolves that: • the profession cannot and will not cooperate in the implementation of NAPLAN unless satisfactory measures are introduced to stop the further creation and publication of league tables; and • the AEU together with its Branches and Associated Bodies will allocate its full resources to: - mobilise and organise the profession in support of this campaign, and - provide the necessary information to parents and the broader community about the critical importance of stopping the further creation and publication of league tables. The AEU will continue to work closely with the parent movement to achieve this. A special meeting of the Federal Executive will be convened on April 12 to assess the extent to which the Government may have heeded the concerns and calls of parents, teachers and principals to introduce appropriate measures to stop league tables. It’s not too late to make your voice heard. Send a message to Deputy Prime Minister Gillard [Julia.Gillard. MP@aph.gov.au] and Minister Barr [barr@act.gov.au] telling them to enact protections so that test data can’t be used to create damaging league tables.
PAGE 2 • Official Journal of the AEU - ACT Branch • Public Education Voice
Continued next page .......
TEACHER REGISTRATION
IN THE ACT The National Partnership Agreement [NPA] between the Commonwealth and ACT Government requires the implementation of a system of teacher registration for the ACT.
This has been on the cards for quite some time, having become pretty much inevitable once the ACT became the only Australian jurisdiction without a system of teacher registration. A Reference Group established under the NPA has been meeting since 2009 to examine how the ACT might progress this matter, and to develop the appropriate frameworks within which a Teacher Quality Institute might grow. The Reference Group comprises all the stakeholders: reps from UCan and ACU as the providers of teacher training, representatives from DET, CEO and AIS as the employers of teachers in the ACT, and representatives from the AEU and IEU as the relevant unions covering teachers in the public and private sectors. An Executive Officer keeps the process moving forward, and develops documents for discussion at the meetings. The discussions have been very interesting and productive, with quite a lot of common ground between all the stakeholders. The previous and fairly recent work on teacher registration in the ACT has stood the group in good stead: there is no need to revisit issues so recently settled such as whether registration is supported as a concept, and what kind of model the stakeholders favour for the establishment of an Institute charged with accrediting teacher training courses, and teachers. This has meant that the discussions can get to the meaty things such as separating the employment and registration functions, and developing documents to support the creation of
legislation to govern the establishment and operation of the Institute.
Secretary’s column continued ......
The AEU has been represented in the discussions by the Branch Secretary, who has made clear that the process will be subject to sign-off through the AEU’s decision-making bodies once proposals are at that point. Two fundamental issues in the development of a registration process for the ACT are the cost implications and the registration procedures for existing employees. The AEU’s consistent position on these matters has been that appropriatelyqualified teachers employed in the ACT at the time the Institute commences should (a) be deemed to be registered on the basis of their existing qualifications and competence rather than being subject to any further requirements in order to be registered, and (b) not be charged any fees for registration at the basic level. Should this be the way the Institute unfolds, it will reflect what has generally been the outcome in recent times when a process of teacher registration has been introduced in other jurisdictions.
To gauge the ACT Branch membership view of this matter, the AEU office released a survey to School Sector members on 19 February. With responses due back by 1 March, the feedback gained through the survey will assist ACT Branch representatives at the continuing national AEU discussions about this matter.
The ACT is fortunate in being the last jurisdiction to tread the path towards registration in that we have the opportunity to learn from the experiences of other jurisdictions and to avoid some of the pitfalls experienced by them. The Reference Group is mindful of this as it develops the ACT’s approach; it is also mindful of the coming National Standards and the opportunity this presents to consider the national agenda in the development of the ACT’s Teacher Quality Institute. Expect to hear more about this developing issue from now on.
Penny Gilmour - Branch Secretary
Want to find out more about this issue? Go to www.aeufederal.org.au/LT/ index2.html National Curriculum Drafts Released The AEU has expressed concern about the short timeframe for response to the proposed Australian Curriculum documents in English, Maths, History and Science, following the release of the draft curricula on 1 March 2010. The consultation period expires on 23 May 2010, and the AEU is concerned that the tight timeframes that have been a hallmark of the development of the Australian Curriculum may mean that there is less broad and deep engagement of the profession in providing feedback than would be optimal. Also of concern is the lack of a public implementation plan at this stage; the AEU believes that – with implementation due to commence in 2011 – the Federal Government needs to release details of budgets for teacher professional learning and development of curriculum resources. Give your feedback on the curriculum documents at http://www. australiancurriculum.edu.au/Home
Public Education Voice • Official Journal of the AEU - ACT Branch • PAGE 3
NEWS
Our first report for 2010 covers hours of attendance, Sub-Branch meetings, Leagues Tables and Sub-Branch Representative positions.
Hours of attendance remains an issue in some school sites. For the purposes of pay and leave, the working week for teachers in schools is 36hrs 45minutes in length. The daily hours of 8:30am to 12:30pm and 1:30pm to 4:51pm are for the purposes of pay and leave only and must not be confused with hours of attendance. These times are only to be used to complete DET’s part-time roster. Part-time teachers and their supervisors should be aware that hours of attendance and face-to-face teaching hours are to be calculated on a pro-rata basis. See Table of Part-Time Hours at www.aeuact.asn. au/documents/AttendanceFeb2010_ 000.pdf The attendance time required at each school site can be negotiated on an individual or collective basis, as detailed in Clause 144 of the Enterprise Agreement 2009-2011. The AEU position is that a full-time teacher’s attendance time on site will generally be 32 hours and 30 minutes per week unless some variation is negotiated under Clause 144.2. This equates to a minimum working day of 6 hours and 30 minutes. In keeping with the terms of the Enterprise Agreement [EA], there are professional responsibilities that teachers must meet and expectations that teachers attend a variety of meetings beyond the base time. Section CC of the Enterprise Agreement [starting on page 63 at www.aeuact.asn. au/info-centre/working-conditions/ documents/SchoolsEA.pdf] outlines the expectations and includes the important point that attendance time on site is to be negotiated either individually or
collectively with the principal. It is critical that teachers are aware of the options available to them under this section with regard to monitoring and managing workload. Professional Learning requirements [5 days per year for full-time teachers] are pro-rata for part-time teachers, and the composition of the teacher’s Professional Learning Days should be negotiated at the school level. Further, part-time teachers should negotiate the number of Professional Pathways goals and the number of playground [or other] duties that fairly reflects their part-time status. We have been attending Sub-Branch meetings to provide members with the latest information in regard to league tables, Teach for Australia, the AEU Community Campaign for better funding of public education, and recruitment of new AEU members. The Federal office has produced a DVD on League Tables that clarifies the issue succinctly through commentary by Federal President Angelo Gavrielatos, principals, teachers and delegates to Annual Conference. Those of you who have not yet enjoyed the experience of our visits should call an Organiser to visit your Sub-Branch as soon as possible to receive your copy of the DVD and to ensure that you have information regarding training opportunities as well. We are moving into a very big year and are planning the Claim for the next Agreement already. Get active and get involved! Has your Sub-Branch filled its Executive, Councillor, Women’s Contact Officer and New Educator Contact Officer positions? Nominations closed on Friday 19 February however,
positions can still be filled by completing the form at www.aeuact. asn.au/member-groups/documents/ VacanciesProformaExclOHS.pdf. It is vitally important for your Sub-Branch and for our Union as a whole to ensure these positions are all filled, particularly as we run our Community Campaign for Better Investment in Public Education and to keep on top of key national issues such as league tables and education funding. Public Education Week [24–28 May] celebrations will be upon us in May. We are once again planning Art Exhibitions in the public libraries May 3–May 28. Student artworks or ceramics are needed for display by the end of Term 1. Please contact Bill or Glenn on 6272-7900 to discuss where they might be suitably exhibited. All 2-D works should be mounted on black card or paper [for lighter works] so that they are ready to be pinned or velcroed to the walls/boards. Concerts will run again in City Walk in Civic during Public Education Week. A performance planning sheet has been emailed to all schools to assist us to put together another wonderful program full of bands, choirs and dancers. There will be lunch-time concerts [11:30am-1:30pm] on Tuesday 25, Wednesday 26 and Friday 28 May and a full-day event on Public Education Day, 27 May [9:30am-3:00pm]. The AEU has public liability insurance to cover all groups performing as part of the Public Education Week performances. Please fax your performance planning sheet back to the AEU office [6273-1828] as soon as possible or contact Bill or Glenn on 6272-7900. We’ll see you in the Sub-Branches.
PAGE 4 • Official Journal of the AEU - ACT Branch • Public Education Voice
WORKING TOGETHER TO CELEBRATE
PUBLIC EDUCATION Public schools and teachers have a far-reaching influence on every member of society. This is evident in the high expectations that parents and the broader community have of public education.
The ACT Department of Education and Training and the Australian Education Union are working in partnership to promote public education and recognise the many achievements of our teachers, principals, support staff and school communities. This year, Public Education Week will be celebrated 24–28 May, with National Public Education Day on Thursday 27 May. Public Education Week recognises the achievements of our public school communities in inspiring students and helping them gain knowledge, skills and values that they will use throughout their lives. As part of a DET-AEU collaboration, the 2010 Public Education Awards will
be presented as a joint celebration on Friday 28 May at the Hyatt Hotel from 5:00-7:00pm. The AEU will present the Public Education Award, as in previous years, recognising the success of ACT members in actively promoting public education. The Department will present awards in four categories, recognising outstanding achievement in teaching, principal leadership, education support and contribution by a “school hero”. 2010 is a transition year for the Department’s awards, which were formerly held in November. This joint celebration and presentation of Public Education Awards during Public Education Week is a new feature of the partnership between the Department and the AEU. On National Public Education Day, Thursday 27 May, the Department and AEU will also jointly recognise the dedication of teachers who have recently completed significant service in ACT
public schools. The AEU’s Certificates of Appreciation for members who have made a significant contribution to the Union during their period of membership will be presented along with the Department’s Recognition of Service Awards for teachers with 10 or more years of service. Another joint presentation will be held during Reconciliation Week [27 May to 3 June], to recognise the achievements of our school communities in promoting Reconciliation, Indigenous culture and meeting the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Public schools play a vital role in supporting students to be active and valued participants in our society. As the profession of teaching develops and meets new challenges, the Department and the AEU will continue to recognise the high standards and public service of our teachers, principals, staff and volunteers.
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ACT Teacher • Official Journal of theAEU - ACT Branch • PAGE 5
COMMITTEE VACANCIES I trust that you had a relaxing summer break - even though it’s difficult to recall, now that we’re all back in the harness.
During January, I had the opportunity to attend the 2010 AEU Federal Conference in Melbourne. The media have already widely reported the most controversial outcome of the Conference – the decision to boycott the NAPLAN testing in May if the authorities refuse to take steps to prevent the publication of league tables of schools based on these test results. Members should be aware that the AEU is not against testing, or NAPLAN, or accountability, or even the My School website. Members may have their individual opinions about these matters, but, despite misreporting in some parts of the media, the Conference resolution only deplored the fact that the publication of league tables has not been outlawed by those with the power to do so. This foreshadowed action is not without threat to AEU members. However, you can be assured that your Federal Executive is carefully considering legal opinions on any implications to members should this dispute go ahead. It will certainly be interesting to see what action the Government will take against 180,000 AEU members in an election year. Those of you working in the ACT in the early 1980s may recall the solidarity members experienced during the Government’s action in locking teachers out of their schools.
May we live in such interesting times! For me, other Conference highlights included an inspiring presentation by the teacher charged with the reconstruction of the devastated school system in Aceh, following the tsunami some years back. Thousands of school buildings were rebuilt in an environment of such corruption and incompetence that it’s difficult to imagine how anything was achieved. A representative of teacher unions in Uganda described the frightening conditions under which teachers work in that country. She described teacher–student ratios of 1 to 75, and one textbook for twenty students. The tenacity and bravery of our colleagues in other countries is both humbling and inspiring. I welcome those members new to Council and Sub-Branch Executive positions in 2010, and urge you all to consider standing for the vacancies on the Branch Executive. 2010 promises to be a year full of challenges for us all, and the Executive and Officers look forward to working with you to address our common concerns. I encourage you to invite a Schools Organiser to attend your Sub-Branch meetings to act as a communication channel to the AEU office.
AEU members needed as DET representatives on committees for 2010. The Senior Officers would like to take this opportunity to thank the members who represented the AEU on committees in 2009. The Union has a practice of readvertising positions annually for various departmental and other committees. This provides experience for members and ensures that the Union’s view is clearly stated to the Department on a range of important industrial and professional issues. The successful applicants will serve for the 2010 school year unless otherwise specified. Members are encouraged to apply for the positions listed below and, if elected may be required to provide written reports to the Union that will be tabled at Executive meetings [a proforma will be provided]. • Qualifications Committee [1 position, 2 year appointment]; • Teacher Scholarship Committee; • ACT Sports Council. Applications [no more than 1 page] for any of the above positions, including a brief CV, should be addressed to Cathy Smith, Assistant to the Secretary [Professional], csmith@aeuact.asn.au or fax 6273-1828 by close of business Monday 29 March 2010. Contact Cathy on 6272-7900 if you have any questions in relation to the committees listed above.
If I can assist you in any way, please don’t hesitate to contact me at Lake Ginninderra College or by email at phil.rasmus@ed. act.edu.au
PAGE 6 • Official Journal of the AEU - ACT Branch • Public Education Voice
THE BATTLE IS AHEAD OF US IN 2010! This year is shaping up to be a momentous one for members of our Union.
Never before have we had both an ACT Government and a Federal Government simultaneously prepared to ignore the advice of and ride roughshod over the teaching profession in so many different ways.
Territory AEU Branch is currently seeking membership feedback on this matter. Their respective views will be debated and a final decision made about our collective response at the April meeting of the AEU Federal Executive. For further details read the Secretary’s Column on page 2 . Members are urged to discuss this issue with your colleagues in each Sub-Branch and let your Branch Council delegates know your views.
As a result there are a number of battles looming: League Tables
Every State and Territory AEU Branch is currently doing the same. Their respective views will be debated and a final decision made about our collective response at the April meeting of the AEU Federal Executive. For further details read the Secretary’s Column on page 2.
The actions of both Deputy PM Gillard and ACT Minister for Education Barr, in promoting a dog-eat-dog environment in all schools across our Territory and the nation dramatically undermine the provision of quality education to all students. Using the NAPLAN data as a simplistic comparison of “performance” shows how little Gillard and Barr understand or care about public education.
Federal Funding For many years the AEU has lobbied Federal Governments to change the unfair allocation of funds to private schools at the expense of public schools. The Howard Government ignored these calls so too has the Rudd Government.
And so, rightly or wrongly, fairly or unfairly, it will be the actions of AEU members across the country on the League Table issue that will help determine just how much damage the Labor Governments are allowed to do to our great public education system. As our Union has been called upon in the past, we are once more called upon to stand proudly for the principles of our profession against the political expediency and indeed stupidity of our political representatives. The AEU – ACT Branch has conducted a survey of our members on this issue and it will be a critical debate at the March 20 Branch Council meeting. Every State and
bargaining round is insufficient, the AEU commits to conducting an extended campaign to seek community and political support to increase the ACT Government’s investment in public education. The AEU office is directed to develop a campaign strategy for approval of Branch Council using the AEU’s Claim as the blueprint for future investment in public education. The strategy will not include industrial action and will be used at Sub-Branch/workplace level and with groups such as school boards, politicians, parent organisations, industry groups, the media and supporters of public education to build understanding of the issues, support for the AEU’s position in future bargaining rounds, and achieve greater levels of Government funding for ACT public education. The Campaign Strategy which was subsequently endorsed includes three fundamental goals: 1. Maximise AEU membership and their support for involvement in the campaign. 2. Achieve widespread community support for the initiatives contained in the AEU 2008 Claim/AEU Budget Submission for 2010-2011.
Throughout 2010 the Federal AEU will mount a strenuous campaign to have the inequities of the current funding regime finally addressed. For further details read the article on page 25.
3. Achieve sufficient political support within the ACT Assembly to fund the initiatives contained in the AEU 2008 Claim/AEU Budget Submission for 2010/2011.
ACT Community Campaign
Sub-Branch meetings are being held to discuss ways in which members can actively participate in this campaign. Your Organisers, Bill and Glenn [Schools] and Mike [CIT] are available to attend SubBranch meetings to help facilitate this discussion. Just give them a call at the Union office on 6272-7900.
In June 2009 the ACT Branch Council endorsed the waging of a local community campaign to run right through to the next ACT Election. The terms of the motion were as follows: In recognition that the outcome of this
Public Education Voice • Official Journal of the AEU - ACT Branch • PAGE 7
PA
U-Can READ is a wellresearched intervention model. The results of U-Can READ verify the positive impact of parent participation on their child’s literacy progress. The time is right for educators to remember how parents can contribute to improved literacy results. According to the Literacy and Numeracy Report [Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, 2008], despite ongoing attention to benchmarking and monitoring performance over the past decade, the literacy levels of Australian children have not improved. Closer collaboration between parents, teachers and students can help remedy the problem.
Parent Education Research highlights the lack of effective and successful initiatives which assist parents with their children’s literacy. Cunningham and Allington [2003] point out that most parents are unsure of how to teach reading or help their children
with literacy development. The positive impact of parent education on children’s reading acquisition is crucial and too often underestimated. Senechal’s [2006] research, involving 1174 families, found that when parents were taught specific literacy skills and used these strategies with their children, they were twice as effective as those parents who simply listened to their children read and six times more effective than parents who read to their children. In addition, Project ROAR [Reach Out And Read] indicates that parents are eager to help their children and when instructed in appropriate literacy activities can positively affect the academic progress of their children [Gilliam Gerla & Wright, 2004]. U-Can READ [formerly Parents-as-Tutors Program] was established to address the needs of struggling readers by educating parents in the use of reading strategies and assist them to develop an understanding of how children learn to read and write. Parents participate in a series of 5 two-hour workshops and a reflective session in which they learn strategies, acquire knowledge about effective reading strategies and
gain support in assisting their children achieve literacy success. In addition, parents accompany their children in the Individual Assistance Program [IAP] which comprises up to twelve sessions run in collaboration with a literacy advisor. The Literacy Centre [located at the University of Canberra] operates five days a week with extended hours to cater for the diverse needs of families and ensure sessions can be accessed outside of normal school hours. U-Can READ endorses and uses current best practice in literacy interventions and includes a strong research component.
Success of the program Ninety two children enrolled in U-Can READ in 2009. As well as supporting their children’s literacy success, parents commented positively about improvements in their own literacy and parenting skills. When asked about the benefits to the family, parents’ responses included:
PAGE 8 • Official Journal of the AEU - ACT Branch • Public Education Voice
He has become more confident and enthusiastic about reading within two weeks of [commencing] this course [Parent, 2009].
U-Can READ: ARENTS ARE KEY Increased parent education and involvement is critical to improving literacy for all children, particularly with children who struggle to attain literacy success BY KELLY HANNETT There is no stress any more when getting my son to read. Everyone now is laid back and enjoys listening. It has been a very rewarding experience [Parent, 2009]. The evaluation data highlights the success of the intervention. In 2009, 57% of all children gained more than five reading levels, 33% gained more than 7 reading levels and 18% gained 9 or more reading levels. Children’s attitudes towards reading and their perceptions of themselves as readers also improved.
AEU ROSEMARY RICHARDS’ AWARD Nominations now open! Across the AEU, women’s employment rights and women’s union participation has been steadily advanced due to an active, committed and predominantly female membership, but challenges still remain. All financial women members of the AEU – ACT Branch are encouraged to apply for this scholarship which is aimed at
U-Can READ is currently accepting applications from parents of students in Years 3–10 for 2010. For further details about the program or to apply, please go to www.canberra.edu.au/centres/ ncclr/ucanread
References: Cunningham, P. M., & Allington, R. L. [2003]. Classrooms that work: They can all read and write. Boston: Allyn and Bacon. Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. [2008]. Literacy
providing the opportunity for a woman member to increase her skills and experience in the Union’s work at a State/Territory/national or international level by supporting the recipient’s proposal which may include [but is not limited to]: • The establishment of a workshadowing arrangement or a mentoring arrangement; • Research or study experiences; • Formal and/or informal training and development opportunities [eg attendance at an appropriate conference]; or • The design and implementation of a discrete project.
and Numeracy in Australia. Retrieved from http://www.aspa.asn.au/images/meetings/ deewr200805/deewrlitandnuminaustmay 2008.pdf Senechal, M., & National Institute for Literacy. [2006]. The effect of family literacy interventions on children’s acquisition of reading: From kindergarten to grade 3. A metaanalytic review. Portsmouth, New Hampshire: RMC Research Corporation. Gilliam, B., Gerla, J. P., & Wright, G. (2004). Providing minority parents with relevant literacy activities for their children. Reading Improvement, (4194), 226-234.
The scholarship is valued up to $10,000 per year. Applications are due by Friday 7 May 2010. For full details go to www.aeufederal.org. au/Trans/2010RRad.pdf Contact: Cathy Smith, AEU - ACT Branch Women’s Officer telephone 6272-7900 or email csmith@aeuact.asn.au Rosemary Richards was a proud feminist, unionist and educator. She was a respected leader, colleague and friend who played a crucial role in shaping the AEU as an organisation which reflects feminist principles. Sadly, Rosemary passed away in November 2006 after a long illness.
Public Education Voice • Official Journal of the AEU - ACT Branch • PAGE 9
Newly elected OHS Representatives and Deputy Representatives are encouraged to attend this year’s OHS Forum: Workload is an OHS Issue which will be on Tuesday 1 June at the Centre for Teaching and Learning [registration details below].
Some of you will remember that two years ago the focus of the Forum was on workplace bullying. The outcome of the workshops run at that event was a Bullying Prevention Commitment, drafted on the day and refined over the next couple of months by the AEU and WorkWatch prior to presenting it to DET at a number of forums. While we have all been awaiting a response from DET since that time, the ACT Work Safety Commissioner and his officers have been busily compiling an anti-bullying kit that was launched last month as a campaign to address the apparent growth in incidents of workplace bullying across all sectors of the community, private and public. The kit has been produced with the intention of raising the community’s awareness of the issue and providing departments, employers and employees with strategies to resolve incidents of bullying and harassment. It covers a wide range of perspectives and identifies what is bullying and what is not. By pooling all of the information into one resource the Commissioner has managed to provide an easy access tool for both employers and employees.
It comprises four booklets and an ACT Code of Practice. There is a checklist for employers, guiding them in their development of a site-based Bullying Policy and Procedures based on principles of natural justice. The section also includes the recommendation that, where the impartiality of an investigation is questioned, external investigators should be used. The second booklet provides a set of guidelines outlining the steps a worker might take when they believe they are being bullied. These range from initially talking with someone through to contacting WorkCover and the Human Rights Commission. The third booklet explains the risk management approach to counter bullying in the workplace with a step-by-step process provided to assist in identifying the hazard and planning to either control or remove the associated risk. The fourth booklet informs users on the steps needed to develop an effective complaint resolution process. It includes a sample policy, a flow chart and a written sample of the complaint resolution process and a matrix of the process to cater to everyone’s learning styles. All of the information is easily accessible at www.worksafety.act.gov.au/bullying and the Commissioner is also running half-day and full-day workshops.
Information about the workshops is available at the same website. Members are reminded that there is advice and information regarding how you should address extreme temperatures in schools [whether too hot or too cold] on the AEU website www.aeuact.asn.au. For those members still enduring the problem, please notify the Organisers at the AEU office on 62727900. Ensure that you have thermometers in every classroom and record the temperatures in each area. This data is important to have before seeking advice or considering action. This year’s OHS Forum: Workload is an OHS Issue will be on Tuesday 1 June, 8:30am – 12 noon at CTL. Workshops will feature training in risk management processes in relation to workload, with the particular aim of ensuring representatives [AEU members] have a clear understanding of their roles in the process. There will also be a focus on raising the awareness of Work Safety Representatives and Deputy Representatives of the changes that have occurred in the Work Safety Act 2008 and how the Act can protect you at work. To register for the Forum, contact Sue at the AEU office [6272-7900] to book your place for this half-day session.
PAGE 10 • Official Journal of the AEU - ACT Branch • Public Education Voice
From the Ministry of Silly Ideas comes ....
LEAGUE TABLE of Silly Ideas
Teachers are currently facing up to numerous hair-brained schemes based on bad policy. Here are some of the craziest, using the only format the Ministry appears to understand – rank order. 1. The SES Funding Model Schools are funded not on the basis of a child’s household income, but on the average income of people with the same postcode. This way, elite schools get public funds for kids from wealthy families who happen to live in a postcode with a low SES. Rich private schools become richer private schools! Oh, and the “funding maintenance” clause means that even if rich schools are deemed to be overfunded, they get to keep the money. No losers! Each private school student receives $15,000 of education per year, and each public school student $11,000. [Hang on, maybe there are losers …] Private schools generally can afford to have smaller class sizes and more school assistants. Where is the incentive to go public? Entrenched madness!
2. League Tables Government Ministers may not have created league tables, but they made it easy through the advent of the laughably imperfect My School website. They knew the league tables were coming, they retreated behind spin and sat back and watched the carnage. Schools that need extra resources receive only public humiliation, and already overworked and undervalued teachers find themselves under increasing pressure to divert their energies from rich, authentic, localised assessment practices in order to coach students to perform better in external, one-size-fits-all tests. Populist nonsense! 3. Teach For Australia This initiative sounds like some sort of joke, but it is actually happening in Victoria and is planned for the other States and Territories. Take a few dozen “high-flying” graduates from nonteaching university courses, enrol them in a six-week summer school, and let them loose in the most challenging classrooms. Real, bona fide, qualified teachers provide the safety net through intensive mentoring. Commitment to the profession is optional: after two years of using the
neediest children as guinea pigs, the TFA graduates can elect to take up a wellpaid position with one of the corporate sponsors of the program, who pick up “hardened” employees with invaluable management and leadership experience. [If you can survive a classroom, you can survive the boardroom!] Real train wreck potential! 4. Private schools as “community use” A local specialty. The plan is simple: take a perfectly useful public education site [like Weston CIT] and gift it to a private school. Say it’s for “community use”, when you really mean for the use of a publicly-subsidised private enterprise that excludes community members on the basis of faith or income. Alternatively, close a public school [such as Hall Primary] due to supposed lack of enrolments, then identify the need for a school on the same site and [with the support of the Greens] open the door for a private school. Wicked and cynical! Stay tuned for future editions when we look at school vouchers, the McSchool [with complimentary small fries] and Teaching through Twitter.
Glenn Fowler – Schools Organiser
ACT Teacher • Official Journal of the Australian Education Union • PAGE 11
NAIDOC WEEK: 4 - 11 July 2010 www.naidoc.org.au Unsung Heroes – Closing the Gap by Leading Their Way NAIDOC Week is a great opportunity to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. As NAIDOC Week falls in ACT school holidays, celebrations at schools could take place the week prior, in the last week of Term 2. NAIDOC is celebrated not only in Indigenous communities, but by Australians from all walks of life. The week is a chance to participate in a range of activities and to support your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. NAIDOC originally stood for “National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee”. This committee was once responsible for organising national activities during NAIDOC Week and its acronym has since become the name of the week itself.
Ways to Get Involved! Here are some ideas on how to celebrate NAIDOC: • Hold a flag raising ceremony. • Display Indigenous posters around your classroom. • Invite local Indigenous elders to speak at your school or workplace. • Listen to Indigenous music. • Study a famous Indigenous Australian. • Research the traditional Indigenous owners of your area.
• Study Aboriginal arts and crafts. • Read a Dreamtime story. • Start your own Indigenous hall of fame featuring any local role models and achievers. • Create your own Aboriginal art. • Visit Indigenous websites on the internet. • Make your own Indigenous trivia quiz.
the Gap by Leading Their Way”. Go to www.naidoc.org.au for further details of how to enter and prizes. All entries must be submitted by close of business Wednesday 31 March 2010. The winning artwork will go on the 2010 poster which will be circulated around Australia. Copies of the poster will be available from May 2010 and can be ordered online.
Nominations for the 2010 National NAIDOC Awards are now open You can nominate a worthy member of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community by downloading a nomination form at www.naidoc.org.au. There are a range of categories for: young people, sportspersons, artists, apprentices, carers of Country and Elders. Entries close Friday 30 April.
• Visit local Indigenous sites of significance or interest.
National Reconciliation Week: 27 May - 3 June 2010
• Learn the meanings of local or national Aboriginal place names.
www.reconciliation.org.au/home
Permission is not required to fly either the Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander flag. However, if you want to reproduce either flag [for example, on a flyer or poster], you will need to seek permission. More information about the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags including contact details to gain permission is available at www.naidoc.org.au
Poster Competition The 2010 National NAIDOC Poster Competition is now open to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists of all ages. Artworks must be based on this year’s theme “Unsung Heroes – Closing
Each year National Reconciliation Week [NRW] celebrates the rich culture and history of the First Australians. It is the ideal time for everyone to join the reconciliation conversation and to think about how we can help turn around the disadvantage experienced by many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The theme for NRW 2010 is Reconciliation: Let’s see it through! NRW 2010 will highlight that a decade after the historic bridge walks it’s fair to say the future for reconciliation has never looked brighter. And while there’s still a way to go, respect, trust and the knowledge to turn good intentions into
PAGE 12 • Official Journal of theAEU - ACT Branch • Public Education Voice
INDIGENOUS NEWS .....
UnionsACT 2010
effective actions pave the way forward. In the words of the Prime Minister, we can now walk and work together, “First Australians alongside all Australians, towards a stronger and fairer Australian nation”. So on the 10th anniversary of the bridge walks [and of Reconciliation Australia itself], we’re asking all Australians to embrace the future and aspire to achieve great things together.
The significance of the NRW dates May 27 marks the anniversary of the 1967 Referendum in which more than 90% of Australians voted to remove clauses from the Australian Constitution which discriminated against Indigenous Australians. The referendum also gave the Commonwealth Government the power to make laws on behalf of Aboriginal people.
VACANCIES The AEU - ACT Branch holds 12 Delegate and 12 Alternate Delegate positions on UnionsACT. Details on how to nominate are outlined below.
UnionsACT meets quarterly at 6:00pm [189 Flemington Road, Mitchell] on the first Wednesday of the month in March, June, September and December PLUS the AGM in November. The Union holds 12 Delegate and 12 Alternate Delegate positions which are filled via election at 20 March Branch Council. Members wishing
to nominate for any of the positions should send an expression of interest to the Union’s email: priority1@ aeuact.asn.au or fax: 6273-1828 to reach Penny Gilmour, Branch Secretary no later than 4:30pm on Thursday 18 March 2010. For any information on the duties of the positions, please contact Penny Gilmour on 6272-7900. Delegates will be elected at March Council and will take up positions from March 2010 to March 2011.
June 3 marks the anniversary of the High Court’s judgment in the 1992 Mabo case. The decision recognised the Native Title rights of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the original inhabitants of the continent and overturned the myth of terra nullius – the belief that the continent was an empty, unowned land before the arrival of Europeans in 1788.
Australian Schools National Sorry Day, 26 May www.nsdc.org.au
Australian Schools National Sorry Day is a wonderful initiative to celebrate the Historic Apology by the Prime Minister to the Stolen Generations and to commemorate with the Stolen Generations and the First Nations Peoples of Australia the enactment and resulting effects of the past policies of forced removals. Go to the above website for ways to get involved, resources and detailed information.
Cathy Smith - Assistant to the Secretary [Professional]
Diane Donohue, new CIT member, was the Term 4 2009 winner of a $100 ME Start-up Account
Public Education Voice • Official Journal of the AEU - ACT Branch • PAGE 13
This first TAFE column for 2010 reports on AEU TAFE Training, Industrial Leave, the Interim Policy on Ethical and Professional Practice and the AEU Community Campaign.
AEU TAFE TRAINING AEU officers and members, under the guidance of TAFE Council, negotiated significant changes to the CIT Teachers Enterprise Agreement 2009-2011 [EA] to provide a foundation to assist members to establish and maintain appropriate work-life balance. Subsequently, AEU officers have provided training for members to explain the beneficial EA changes to enhance understanding of strategies for teachers to access their workplace rights. In fact, the EA provides for a range of new initiatives empowering teachers to positively influence the workplace and to ensure realistic recognition of their work. The training entitled “How to Improve Your Working Life” focused on current workplace issues and how the EA provides a pathway for empowerment of members. Matters discussed included the new Clause 25 which defines “Teaching Duties” and “Duties Other Than Teaching” [DOTT]. Members learned that enshrined in the EA is the statement that all teachers must receive hour-for-hour recognition towards their annual teaching load for all teaching and assessment work, whether face-to-face, flexible delivery, off-site, RPL, etc. They also learned that DOTT accounts for the remaining teacher work towards the minimum requirement for attendance which remains at 30 hours per week for the sum of teaching and DOTT duties. Participants learned that the EA provides for a comprehensive commitment by CIT and the ACT Government to achieve appropriate work/life balance and to
security of employment. In addition, the EA enables members to challenge any Centre management decisions relating to educational delivery [eg class sizes, flexible delivery, reduced delivery hours etc]. The raising of disputes on these and any other issues concerning workload management under the Internal Review Procedures [Section Q of the EA], or in some circumstances under the Dispute Avoidance/Settlement Procedures [Clause 115 of the EA] was explained to attendees in detail. Likewise, CIT’s commitment to secure and stable employment is outlined in Clause 12 of the EA. Despite this, members noted a greater than 300% increase in employment of casual teachers at CIT since 2006. Similarly members have noted a restriction to streamlining of contract teachers by the excessive reliance by management on the phrase “operational constraints”. Together, these constitute impediments to security of employment at CIT and an over-reliance by CIT on casual and contract teaching staff. The EA provides a vehicle for the AEU to rectify this situation if members wish to pursue these issues. AEU INTERIM POLICY ON ETHICAL AND PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE Members will be aware that CIT has recently promoted a “Framework for Professional Practice at CIT” [FPP] for all CIT staff which the AEU does not accept as addressing the unique professional and duty of care considerations of teachers at CIT. Consequently, the ACT Branch and TAFE Council have endorsed the “AEU Interim Policy on Ethical and Professional Practice” [EPP] for CIT
teachers, which augments the CIT FPP by focusing upon the specific professional responsibilities of teachers, as distinct from general staff responsibilities under the Public Service Management Act. Training in the EPP will be provided on 19 March from 1:30-4:00pm at the Centre for Teaching and Learning [CTL], Fremantle Drive, Stirling. Members should contact Mike Fitzgerald on 6272-7900 to discuss this training or to register for the training. INDUSTRIAL LEAVE Clause 99 of the EA which provides for members to attend AEU training [on Industrial leave]. This allows for up to 15 days per annum of Industrial Leave and release from teaching and DOTT to attend such training and professional development. Among other criteria associated with the granting of Industrial Leave members should note that subclause 99.2 states: …If a teacher applied for leave under sub-clause 99.1 and CIT rejected the application because of operational requirements, CIT will not unreasonably withhold approval of any subsequent leave for the teacher under sub-clause 99.1, provided that the teacher gives his or her manager or supervisor at least 14 days notice in advance. Members can access the full range of training opportunities available to them both for CIT and schools’ members on the website at www.aeuact.asn.au/ membership/training.html The AEU is also able to create additional professional development courses based on the specific needs raised by CIT
PAGE 14 • Official Journal of the AEU - ACT Branch • Public Education Voice
TAFE WORKS CONTINUED members. Members are invited to contact Mike Fitzgerald on 6272-7900 to discuss these professional and industrial matters and training opportunities.
• community benefits resulting from the interfacing of CIT students and staff who are representative of all aspects of the ACT community.
AEU COMMUNITY CAMPAIGN
In relation to maintaining these services, the community needs to be alerted to matters including:
The AEU – ACT Branch decided to pursue a community campaign during the life of the current EA which will promote the role and importance of public education, including CIT, in the ACT and regional communities and to highlight the issues of the AEU members in maintaining quality TAFE provision. The AEU is seeking input of ideas from members to identify and promote the valuable contributions of the CIT community to the wider regional community. Suggestions received to date include community advocacy through publications and forums promoting: • narratives of the benefits of CIT education to intellectually and socially disadvantaged, international students and refugees. • the contributions to individual industries within the region through delivery of diverse training.
THE PUBLIC EDUCATION VOICE
• establishing and maintaining of a work-life balance and job security at CIT. Members are encouraged to contact Mike Fitzgerald on 6272-7900 or by email to mfitzgerald@aeuact.asn.au to discuss and further develop these and other ideas and to join a focus group to generate actions as part of the community campaign. ANTI-BULLYING CAMPAIGN The ACT Work Safety Commissioner, Mark McCabe, has identified a systemic increase of reported incidents of bullying and harassment across the
Education Voice. This title was the winning entry in our Name the Journal competition held last year, submitted by Shaun Haidon, Calwell High School.
Welcome to the new look journal of the ACT Branch! Not only does the journal have a new layout, it has a new name, The Public
• effects of increasing commercialisation on the workforce and educational offerings of CIT.
Articles of between 500-1000 words are welcome. Share a great program at your school/workplace or a good news story about public education in the ACT. Deadlines for 2010 are as follows:
ACT Public Service and private sectors. Consequently he has launched an antibullying kit and campaign to heighten awareness of such damaging behaviour on the health and wellbeing of the workforce, which places an onerous financial burden on the community. For more information please see the Occupational Health and Safety article in this journal on page 10, the website www.worksafety.act.gov.au/bullying and note the posters in your workplace listing contact people to discuss any related matters of concern in your workplace. AEU CIT SUB-BRANCH REPRESENTATIVES, BRANCH AND TAFE COUNCIL REPRESENTATION Members are invited to contact Mike Fitzgerald on 6272-7900 to discuss the roles of the various Sub-Branch representatives and TAFE Council positions for this the coming year.
Mike Fitzgerald CIT/VETiS Organiser
Term 2 - Wednesday 26 May Term 3 - Wednesday 25 August Term 4 - Wednesday 27 October Journals are distributed to members via the Union’s maildrop ten days after the journal deadline. Email articles and high resolution photos [permission to publish must be sought] to Cathy Smith at csmith@aeuact.asn.au
Public Education Voice • Official Journal of the AEU - ACT Branch • PAGE 15
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE 2008 $
INCOME
2009 $
1,562,049
Members’ subscriptions
1,584,709
28,521
Interest on investments
16,507
12,055
Other income
5,966
33,890
Rent Received
34,611
1,636,516
TOTAL INCOME
1,641,793
24,724
Affiliation fees & ITF subscriptions
25,309
27,591
Amortisation - leasehold buildings
27,591
58,420
Arbitration & campaign expenses
27,153
3,200
Audit & accounting costs
3,200
11,463
Bank fees & merchant fees
14,337
330
Provision for doubtful debts & bad debts
[2,800]
[b] the financial statements and notes comply with the reporting guidelines of the Industrial Registrar.
4,439
Cleaning
5,337
19,949
Computer services & database costs
23,092
12,985
Depreciation
7,360
[c] the financial statements and notes give a true and fair view of the financial performance, financial position and cashflows of the reporting unit for the financial year to which they relate.
7,723
Donations - general
5,109
3,828
Electricity
4,477
8,680
Meeting & conference expenses
13,570
16,901
Membership services & training
19,330
[d] there are reasonable grounds to believe that the reporting unit will be able to pay its debts as and when they become due and payable.
18,676
Members Journey Insurance
14,906
92,614
Federal capitation fees
96,086
27,761
Newsletter expenses
15,622
21,682
Insurance
20,110
1,948
Office equipment & leases
2,015
59,214
Legal - annual retainer
54,866
338
Legal - members
-
2,577
Legislation reports & awards
2,332
4,879
Photocopying charges
4,145
14,179
Postage, staff recruitment & general expenses
14,089
18,486
Printing & stationery [including Year Planner]
9,434
9,658
Professional development & training
3,846
[3,200]
Provision for annual leave
19,396
[35,341]
Provision for long service leave
19,114
32,695
Rates, taxes and body corporate fees
28,463
5,222
Repairs, maintenance & replacements
20,479
261,790
Salaries - officers [including retirement leave entitlements]
132,289
653,252
Salaries - other employees
685,839
113,577
Superannuation - general staff
111,312
23,008
Superannuation - officers
18,845
14,416
Telephone & internet costs
15,963
6,392
Travel
3,077
47,449
Vehicle expenses [including FBT]
50,095
3,605
Vehicle depreciation
2,885
3,652
Women’s budget
3,201
1,598,762
TOTAL EXPENSES
1,521,473
37,754
Operating surplus for year
120,320
ACT Branch Committee of Management Statement On 9 February 2010 the Committee of Management of the AEU - ACT Branch passed the following resolution in relation to the general purpose financial report [GPFR] of the reporting unit for the financial year ended 31 December 2009. The Committee of Management declares in relation to the GPFR that in its opinion: [a] the financial statements and notes comply with the Australian Accounting Standards.
[e] during the financial year to which GPFR related and since the end of that year: [i] meetings of the Committee of Management were held in accordance with the rules of the organisation, including the rules of the Branch concerned; and [ii] the financial affairs of the reporting unit have been managed in accordance with the rules of the organisation, including the rules of the Branch concerned; and [iii] the financial records of the reporting unit have been kept and maintained in accordance with the RAO Schedule and the RAO Regulations; and [iv] reports done on a single reporting unit basis; and [v] there has been no requests by any member or the Registrar that required a report under Section 272 of the RAO Schedule; and [vi] no orders have been made by the Commission under section 273 of the RAO Schedule during the period.
For Committee of Management Penny Gilmour, Branch Secretary
PAGE 16 • Official Journal of the AEU - ACT Branch • Public Education Voice
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2009 2008 $
CURRENT ASSETS
2009 $
106,293
Cash at bank
48,007
378,389
Cash on deposit
667,482
46,814
Sundry debtors and prepayments
21,269
15,796
Members’ welfare loans
12,050
[9,000]
Less: Provision for doubtful debts
[2,000]
538,292
TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS
746,808
NON CURRENT ASSETS 724,746
Leasehold property, plant & equipment
969299
1,263,038
TOTAL ASSETS
1,716,107
LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES 58,447
Sundry creditors
65,969
138,355
Provision for staff entitlements - general staff
152,983
22,188
Provision for staff entitlements - officers
43,145
52,730
Subscriptions paid in advance
57,058
271.720
TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES
319,155
NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES 7,220
Provision for staff entitlements
10,145
7,220
TOTAL NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES
10,145
278,940
TOTAL LIABILITIES
329,300
984,098
NET ASSETS
1,386,807
Represented by: Members’ Funds 946,344
Balance as at 1 January 2009
984,098
-
Revaluation of Leasehold Land & Building Reserve
282,389
37,754
ADD - Surplus/[Deficit] for Year
120,320
984,098
BALANCE AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2009
1.386.807
Statement of Cash Flows for the year ended 31 December 2009 2008 $
CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
2009 $
1,560,494
Receipts from members
1,589,037
25,898
Interest received
16,507
45,560
Receipts - other persons
40,577
[1,621,475]
Payments to suppliers & employees
[1,415,314]
10,476
NET CASH PROVIDED BY OPERATIONS
230,807
Cash Flow from Investing & Financing Activities [4,265]
Payment for Assets
-
[4,265]
NET CASH PROVIDED BY INVESTING & FINANCING
-
6,211
Net increase/[Decrease] in Cash Held
230,807
478,471
Cash at beginning of year
484,682
484,682
CASH AT END OF YEAR
715,489
TO VIEW THE NOTES TO AND FORMING PART OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 DECEMBER 2009 GO TO www.aeuact.asn.au/index.html and click on the AUDITED ACCOUNTS link.
Statement of Financial Position as at 31 December AUDITOR’S REPORT I have audited the accounts of the Australian Education Union, ACT Branch in respect of the year ended 31 December 2009 and have received all the information and explanations I required for the purposes of my audit. Scope: The Executive Committee is responsible for the preparation and presentation of the financial reports and the information contained therein. I have conducted an independent audit of the financial reports in order to express an opinion on them to the members. My audit has been conducted in accordance with Australian Auditing Standards to provide reasonable assurance as to whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. My procedures included examination, on a test basis, of evidence supporting the amounts and other disclosures in the financial statements, and the evaluation of accounting policies and significant accounting estimates. These procedures have been undertaken to form an opinion as to whether, in all material respects, the financial statements are presented fairly in accordance with Australian Accounting Standards and Statutory Requirements so as to present a view of the Australian Education Union, ACT Branch which is consistent with my understanding of its financial position and the results of its operations. The audit opinion expressed in this report has been formed on the above basis. In my opinion: [1] there were kept by the Organisation in respect of the year satisfactory accounting records detailing the sources and nature of the income of the Organisation [including income from members] and the nature and purpose of expenditure; [2] the general purpose financial report is presented fairly in accordance with relevant Australian Accounting Standards and the relevant requirements imposed by the Fair Work [Registered Organisations] Act 2009, and [3] that the Branch has not been involved with recovery of wages activities during the year. Kim D Hanna FCA- Registered Company Auditor, McKay Gardens, Turner
Public Education Voice • Official Journal of the AEU - ACT Branch • PAGE 17
THE SCERTS A comprehensive Educational Approach for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders As reviewed by PHILLIP HALL, Class Teacher Learning Support Unit, Yarralumla Primary
SCERTS is an acronym for Social Communication, Emotional Regulation and Transactional Support, which current research sees as the critical developmental components that need to be addressed when considering a comprehensive program designed to support the development of young children with autism spectrum disorders [ASD] and their families. Developments in Special Education The past few decades have seen enormous changes in the area of special education. During this time, an increased awareness regarding the critical issues of students with ASD has occurred. This has resulted in a wave of developments in curriculum, programs and commercial packages for students with ASD. A range of resources are needed because autism is now seen as a spectrum of disorders with varying levels of ability in communication, social relating and behaviour. Current Challenges The research and discussion has been plentiful. However, the challenge for teachers and parents now becomes identifying which resources are
appropriate for the individual needs of children with ASD. There are two basic guiding principles that may assist in this area. Firstly, you need to be circumspect when borrowing strategies and programs for students with ASD, as further confusion in learning may result if they are not appropriate to the needs of individual students. Secondly, always be guided by quality research that has been validated by empirical evidence. The SCERTS Model - a Comprehensive Educational Approach A current innovative development that uses these guiding principles is the SCERTS Model – a comprehensive educational approach for children with autism spectrum disorders [Prizant, Wetherby, Rubin and Laurent, 2006]. The SCERTS publication has two volumes: Volume 1 Assessment and Volume 2 Program Planning and Intervention. The SCERTS Model is definitely not a watered down curriculum. There are levels of complexities in this model that require some time to study. In the USA professional development accompanies the publication however the PD is not currently available in Australia.
The model provides a comprehensive framework that maps the development of young children with autism, and takes into account their respective learning styles and individual profiles. The SCERTS Model also provides measurable outcomes relevant to the pre-verbal to conversation levels of development. Prizant, Wetherby, Rubin and Laurent [2006b], state that the SCERTS Model has emerged from two decades of theoretically directed and empirically based research together with clinical work. They provide a summary of research supporting the SCERTS Model [Aldred, Green, & Adams, 2004; Drew et al., 2002; Escalona, Field, Singer, Strunck, Cullen, & Hartshorn, 2001; cited in Prizant, Wetherby, Rubin and Laurent, 2006a]. The approach acknowledges that one of the difficulties in delivering intervention to students with ASD, is avoiding generalisation that often results in a narrow view of philosophical guiding principles. Critical Issues and Intervention in the Domains of the SCERTS Model The SCERTS Model focuses on three interdependent core domains, which
PAGE 18 • Official Journal of the AEU - ACT Branch • Public Education Voice
MODEL are Social Communication, Emotional Regulation and Transactional Support. These are briefly summarised in the following section. The collaborators of SCERTS have reviewed the critical issues in the research, matched these with quality intervention strategies and placed them in a workable framework.
• joint attention
Core Domain:Transactional Support
• symbol use
The Core Domains, Critical Issues and the respective Goals and Objectives of the SCERTS Model
Critical Issues in Emotional Regulation relevant to students with autism: Children with autism have:
Critical Issues in Transactional Support relevant to students with autism: The concept of transactional support has evolved to mean that clinicians and teachers are urged to develop their role to include supporting others in how to produce interactions and activities.
Core Domain: Social-Communication The three staged developmental continuum of this domain:
• significant issues with arousal modulation and consequently emotional regulation
A. Educational and learning supports:
• heightened states of hyperactivity causing anxiety
• Environmental modification;
Language Partner stage – emerging language and early language
These can be very easily misinterpreted as behavioural problems.
B. Interpersonal supports:
Conversational Partner stage – more advanced language
Emotional Regulation Intervention Goals in the SCERTS Model:
Critical Issues in Social-Communication relevant to students with autism: A key challenge in the profile of children with autism is their capacity for joint attention, which contributes to limitations in:
A. Enhance capability in self regulation
• sharing intent
B. Enhance capability in mutual regulation
Social Partner stage - preverbal intentional communication
• coordination of attention and affect • perspective taking of emotional states • communication functions Social-Communication Intervention Goals in the SCERTS Model: In the SCERTS Model the core challenges in Social Communication primarily relate to:
• relationship to imitation/socialpragmatics. [Prizant, Wetherby, Rubin and Laurent, 2003] Core Domain: Emotional Regulation
Independently use sensory motor and/or cognitive/linguistic strategies to regulate emotional arousal and support attention and engagement.
Seek support from others on how to react to partners. C. Enhance capacity to recover from dysregulation Ability to recover from extreme states of dysregulation either independently or through support from partners.
Transactional Support Intervention Goals in the SCERTS Model:
• Use of visuals and other organisational supports; • Curriculum modification.
• Regulate partner language and interactive function of language; • Communicate, engage and play at increasing levels of sophistication; • Design opportunities for learning through developing relationships with peers. C. Family supports: Emotional and educational support provided to parents to enhance their confidence and abilities in supporting their child’s development. D. Support among professionals: Provide training opportunities for staff to enhance educational skills and emotional support to cope with work related challenges. Continued page 28
Public Education Voice • Official Journal of the AEU - ACT Branch • PAGE 19
SUPPORTING STUDENTS WHO ARE ALSO PARENTS
CCCARES
Students stated that they would not have completed their Year 12 Certificate without the support provided by CCCares.
Peter Clayden of Canberra College explains its award winning program which supports pregnant and parenting students.
• develop the social and emotional intelligences needed to become connected to their chosen community;
• Road Ready and Driver Training;
• improve student’s literacy, numeracy and IT skills;
• cooking facilities + lunch and morning tea program;
The Canberra College in partnership with ACT DET, ACT Health and significant government and non-government community agencies, provides an education and support program for pregnant and parenting students in the ACT and surrounding districts. The program is known as CCCares and is located at the Weston Campus of Canberra College, Stirling. It operates from 8:00am until 5:00pm every week day, in an open plan learning environment with onsite classrooms, kitchens, playrooms, sleep rooms, change rooms, a medical suite, vocational training facilities, gymnasium and outside play areas.
• work to develop an awareness of local and global issues;
• fresh fruit and vegetables program;
Program Overview CCCares, with partnership support from community agencies, endeavours to provide a best practice model for pregnant and parenting students to access education in the ACT. CCCares offers Year 12 Certification; personal health and wellbeing support; advocacy and support services; goal oriented learning packages; online learning and employability skills within a mainstream ACT Government College context. This is strongly supported by the daily transport program provided by the school to facilitate school attendance. CCCares uses Personalised Learning Programs to:
• provide a supportive environment which encourages young people to identify and manage their personal circumstances; • design Pathways Plans with young parents to develop the necessary skills and personal strengths they need to become marketable and employable in the future; • assist our young people to become financially independent. Specific program activities provided on site include the following: • MACH nurse visits twice weekly; • monthly antenatal nurse visits; • adjunct care child-minding model; • playgroup;
• Sing ‘n Grow;
• emergency food and clothing relief; • adopt-a grandparent program; • excursions; • sewing program; • home maintenance program; • post-school transition options including continuing involvement with program after graduation. Enrolments In 2009 there were 105 students enrolled – 82 of whom were young parents, their 85 children aged under 5 years attending school with them. In 2010, current enrolments include 79 young parents and their 85 children under age 5. Graduation
• take home learning packages;
Over 35 students have graduated with an ACT Year 12 Certificate over the last 2 years and it is anticipated another 23 will graduate in 2010. The vast majority of these students have stated that they would not have completed their Year 12 Certificate at this stage without the holistic support provided by CCCares.
• advocacy and support programs;
National Recognition
• transport assistance 5 days;
In November 2009, the program was
• online curriculum; • classroom based learning; • access to community learning programs;
PAGE 20 • Official Journal of the AEU - ACT Branch • Public Education Voice
CCCARES CONTINUED recognised for its outstanding partnership achievements with ACT Health and other community organisations to improve outcomes for young people by taking out the $750000 Inaugural Schools First National Award. This award has generated significant community support and has enabled CCCares to undertake significant additional activities including: • funding an onsite employment consultant; • focusing on the development of online curriculum; • funding the extension of pilot programs for young parents in conjunction with ACT Health
• seed funding to establish and develop the recently formed Australian Young Pregnant and Parenting Network [over 35% of award funds have been allocated for this purpose]. Schools First awards are available in 2010 nationally for all schools. Further information can be accessed on www.schoolsfirst.edu.au
local aims include further development of incorporating vocational competencies for all students. CCCares also aims to continue to inform and support the development of core, holistic support services for pregnant and parenting young people across Australia. Peter Clayden Canberra College
Long Term Vision CCCares, in conjunction with ACT Government and community partnership organisations, aims to continue to provide regional holistic health, education and welfare support and connections for young people that assist them to optimise their outcomes in our society. Specific
PHOTO: CCCares 2009 students and their children
Public Education Voice • Official Journal of the AEU - ACT Branch • PAGE 21
MEMBER
PROFILE
Schools Organiser Glenn Fowler recently interviewed Bob Birks, one of the AEU’s large number of casual teacher members.
What is your professional background and what drew you to teaching? I entered the teaching profession after several years working in civil aviation, then another few years with the Commonwealth Department of Education where [unsurprisingly] I picked up an interest in matters pedagogical. Following my first degree, I decided to continue to a Grad.Dip.Ed. and in the course of time joined the then Commonwealth Teaching Service. In fact, my first paid teaching work was a brief stint as relief staff in the outer western suburbs of Sydney – a real baptism of fire. Canberra schools were a doddle by comparison, and teaching in them has been a genuine pleasure. What are the attractions of relief teaching? Flexibility. In the ACT, relief staff can choose on what days and to which schools they make themselves available. They can take on extended employment situations of up to one term [or more if they have a current application in the system] or withdraw themselves from consideration for intervals without penalty. During the many years that I have worked as a contract/casual teacher in the system, I’ve spent several extended periods overseas. I’ve also managed to complete three postgraduate degrees, and I’m currently working on a fourth. That may not be your particular cup of tea, but you get the idea. And, let’s face it, the job is reasonably well paid. Can you give a feel for the variety of tasks a relief teacher performs? Any task that any classroom teacher in the ACT might at some time be called on to perform, and then a few. Some of the more outré examples? Supervising a snorkelling course at Jervis Bay; teaching
a language of which I spoke only six words; toiletting disabled students; helping compere a fashion parade, and treating a snake bite. Be prepared! Some schools report difficulties in attracting and retaining relief staff. Why do you think this is the case? Relief teachers gravitate towards schools that have good student management policies in place, and where they feel valued and supported. They naturally resent being treated as mere bodies to be left propped up in front of a class – as well as attempts to exploit their labour by being rostered to teach every period during a day plus supervision duties at recess and lunchtime. [And yes, I’ve encountered the latter more than once.] If schools want to attract and retain quality relief staff, they need to make a genuine effort. Some in the ACT system definitely fall into “could do better” category. Challenges? Try finding your own way to a particular staffroom in an unfamiliar school to hear the faculty head say, “Oh, is such-and-such away? Nobody ever tells me anything. No, I’ve no idea where she keeps her rolls, or what she had planned for today.” [And yes … quite often.] It always pays to have several of your own lessons ready to go, and to be able to think on your feet.
• Clear lines of supervision and responsibility concerning relief staff, with everyone’s role clearly understood, accepted and carried out. • The recognition by schools that day-to-day relief staff will often require greater support in the student management area than the teachers they’re replacing. Attempting to bait or misinform relief teachers is a regular student pastime, and relief staff may be familiar neither with student names nor the policies and procedures of a particular school. What does being an AEU member mean to you?
There is a systemic need to identify, disseminate and encourage “best practices” in properly integrating relief staff into the daily running of a school. These may include, for instance:
Quite apart from the collegiality aspect, relief teaching staff occupy a relatively precarious position in the workplace. They are casual employees dependent on the goodwill of employing schools. As a result, relief teachers are more vulnerable to coercion to accept less than appropriate working conditions. Fortunately, most schools are responsible and reasonable but disputes can arise – for instance, about acceptable workloads, or what constitutes paid work hours versus unpaid “breaks” during a day. At the same time, relief staff are more likely to encounter reportable student misbehaviours that may have legal or professional implications for the teacher concerned. Should any such situation arise, the advice and support of the AEU becomes essential. Having said that, the AEU itself could profitably take a still greater interest in issues important to its members performing contract and relief work.
• Providing relief staff with all necessary general information [maps, timetables, student management policies] at the outset of an employment period.
One last thing. As a system, could we please get rid of the term “relief” as a descriptor. It really does raise all the wrong connotations. Suggestions?
What measures may make relief teaching a more attractive proposition?
PAGE 22 • Official Journal of the AEU - ACT Branch • Public Education Voice
SCHOOL
SERVICE OFFICERS SSOs are preschool assistants, LSAs, youth workers and Indigenous Education Workers/Officers. You’re all invited to join the education union at www.aeuact.asn.au
This is an important time for all SSOs. The Single Bargaining Unit [SBU] of combined unions has been negotiating the common core conditions for all ACT public sector employees including SSOs since October last year and they are continuing to meet every fortnight. At this point we can report that the Government has offered a salary increase of 2% in the first year and 2.5% in the following year. That has fallen short of the SBU’s claim for 4.5% per annum and as a result the offer has been rejected. Once the common core conditions have been settled, then the DET specific conditions will be negotiated. The AEU offered a training session specifically for SSO members on 22 February to discuss aspects of the common core conditions claim, to update members on the progress of the negotiations and to get feedback in regard to the issues you would like to have addressed in your specific DET Enterprise Agreement. The training unfortunately had to be cancelled. So AEU officers are looking at ways to get all SSO members together as a matter of urgency. We need SSOs input into the claim to ensure that we are addressing the issues that you consider to be the most vital to maintain and/or improve your working conditions. There are training opportunities available to SSOs offered by the AEU that aim to contribute to an improved quality
in your working life. Some of those are knowledge/information-based [Rights and Entitlements] while others are skillbased [Communication and Negotiation Skills – For All Women Members]. Any PD offered through our training program is available to all AEU members. Some of it is clearly targeted at specific groups but any of those sessions not targeting teachers or CIT teachers is open to you as well. You should have a close look at the training program on the AEU website www.aeuact.asn.au/membership/ training.html. If you have trouble accessing the information electronically please inform the AEU office and talk with your Sub-Branch Representatives to access a hard copy. The training may be counted toward your personal professional development requirements. The Department has initiated one meeting with the AEU and the CPSU to discuss their desire to introduce a staff transfer round to coincide with the teacher transfer round when it comes up in Term 3 this year. It would provide much greater job security and should help to identify the shortcomings in current arrangements and tighten the process. The first meeting set the framework for such a round but the DET proposal is still very sketchy. At this time, one point that has been agreed is that there will be no mobility component introduced to any staff transfer round. We will keep you posted as the plan develops. Finally, recruitment of new AEU members is an ongoing process and the responsibility of all members. All research clearly indicates that often the reason people do not join a union is because they are never approached and asked to
join. There are many good reasons for belonging to the Union, as you know, beginning with strength in unity and the fact that an individual has little chance of being heard. There is also Journey Cover Insurance provided for members by the AEU; Union Shopper providing discounts on just about every product you can imagine; legal and financial services; access to health insurance; advocacy of a Union officer for individuals and groups of members. Be proactive and ask your colleagues to join the AEU today.
Bill Book Schools Organiser
March Branch Council Reminder Newly elected Branch Councillors for 2010 are reminded that the next meeting of the ACT Branch Council will be held on Saturday 20 March 2010 in J Block Theatre, CIT Reid Campus, Constitution Avenue, Reid. The meeting commences at 9:00am and papers are available from 8:45am. A quorum must be present by 9:30am or the meeting lapses. Business papers will be forwarded to Councillors prior to the meeting via the Union’s mail drop in schools Friday 12 March 2010. Tea and coffee is provided but please bring a mug.
Public Education Voice • Official Journal of the AEU - ACT Branch • PAGE 23
IMPLEMENTATION OF
ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT As part of the current Enterprise Agreement a number of tasks groups have been created to make recommendations to the overseeing Joint Working Party about a range of critical issues as follows:
EA Clause
Task Groups
146.3[a]
A Taking into account the Special Education Review report, examine working arrangements, resource allocation, staffing and support models for special schools during 2010, with a view to developing arrangements that recognise the different nature of special school environments.
146.3[b]
B Taking into account the SBM Review report, by March 2010 identify duties allocated to teachers and school leaders not related to teaching and educational leadership and propose options for addressing any issues arising.
146.3[c]
C Identify any workload issues arising from implementation of outcomes of the work referred to in subclause 146.1.
146.3[d]
D Examine the current staffing resource allocation methodology for all schools.
146.3[e] 38.3
E Examine teacher and school leader workload, including the impact of the employment of 70 additional teachers under the Government’s policy of reducing class sizes to an average of 21 across primary schools and high schools and an average of 19 across the college sector, with a view to addressing any issues and identifying and sharing leading practice.
146.3[f]
F Identify any issues arising from the introduction of the 15 hours per week for preschool children and preschool amalgamation, and propose options for addressing any problems arising.
146.3[g]
G Review the alternative programs and settings currently available and consider the feasibility of other alternative programs and settings.
146.3[h]
H Develop agreed procedures for assessing a new initiative, proposal, special project etc which will impact on the work of teachers.
132 127.2
1 Principal Structure The Department and the AEU will negotiate and agree on: [i] updating of the schedule of advancements to take account of the changing complexities of schools, detailed at clause 216; [ii] removal of the link between the school category structure and the minimum school executive structure and development of executive structure options for various school settings; [iii] removal of the link between the school category and the staffing formulae and consideration of a staffing formula based on student enrolment; and [iv] opportunities for better integration of roles across the school leadership group. The Department and the AEU will consider: [v] a new system for principal salary arrangements, including a single principal salary point; [vi] a more sophisticated process to recognise a broader level of complexity and difference across the schools.
The AEU is represented on the Task Groups by officers and members. Regular reports are provided to the Branch Executive and will be included in the Industrial Reports of the journal.
PAGE 24 • Official Journal of the AEU - ACT Branch • Public Education Voice
FLAWED SCHOOLS FUNDING SYSTEM
MUST BE SCRAPPED Despite a record injection of funds into public schools by the Federal Government, private schools will still receive billions more in Federal funding by 2013, new research has found.
The research by senior academic, Dr Jim McMorrow, said the funding imbalance was due to an “unfair and dysfunctional” funding system put in place by the Howard Government that should be scrapped. The McMorrow report reveals: • By the end of the current schools funding agreement in 2012/13, private schools will have received $47 billion and public schools $35 billion from the Rudd Government for building works, new equipment and running schools. • Despite teaching over two-thirds of all students, the public school share of Federal funding will be back to 36% in 2012/13. An extra investment of $1.5 billion a year in public schools would be required to return their share of education funding to the level it was under the last Labor Government [43%]. • Public schools are not receiving a fair share of funding for computers in schools and trades training facilities and would be getting $500 million extra if the money was distributed on the basis of need. AEU Federal President, Angelo Gavrielatos said the report showed the Labor Government had taken significant and welcome steps to redress the under-funding of public schools by John Howard. “But the fact remains the Federal Government has retained the Liberal’s
funding system which the report shows is continuing to deliver levels of funding to private schools that cannot be justified on educational or equity grounds,” he said. “This system is so flawed that private schools are given huge increases every year regardless of their wealth or income while public schools are being denied the chance to expand the educational opportunities of students. “True equity in education can only exist when government schools set the standard for high quality education. “Australia cannot afford to keep a flawed funding system that puts the interests of private school students ahead of students in public schools. “The funding system is so flawed that 50% of all private schools receive more than they are entitled to. Millions are directed to the wealthiest private schools in the nation. “We need a new way of funding schools that delivers on Labor’s core principle that the primary obligation of the Commonwealth is to properly and adequately fund public schools. “The Federal Government has said it will review schools funding this year. That review needs to begin as a matter of urgency to allow for a proper public debate on where school funding should be directed and for what purpose.” Mr Gavrielatos also called for the Federal Government to review its spending allocations for new computers in schools and trades training facilities in light of the findings of the McMorrow report that public schools were being short-changed.
“This funding should reflect the higher level of enrolments in public schools in vocational educational and training programs and the greater need in public schools for computers and infrastructure,” he said. The McMorrow report can be downloaded at: www.aeufederal. org.au/Publications/2010/ JMcMorrowreport2010.pdf
HAVE YOU CHANGED ANY DETAILS? Have you • Changed your workplace? • Gone part-time or increased to full-time? • Taken half pay leave? • Been promoted? • Returned to work after suspending your membership while on leave without pay? • Increased the number of casual relief days per week you work? We don’t know unless you tell us! Unless you are paying your membership dues at the correct rate, you may not be a financial member and therefore not covered for all AEU services. Go to www.aeuact.asn.au/membership/ change-of-details.html for a quick and easy way to update your details.
Public Education Voice • Official Journal of the AEU - ACT Branch • PAGE 25
Teaching Boys: Developing classroom practices that work by Amanda Keddie & Martin Mills
There are many causes of violence against women but there is one main cause, and that is the attitude of men towards women... Prime Minister Kevin Rudd ABC Radio
Seminar and workshop series
White Ribbon Day Everyday Amanda Keddie and Martin Mills are offering opportunities for teachers, principals, policymakers and others concerned with violence against girls and women and marginalised boys and men, to attend a lecture and/or participate in workshops that draw on research material from their recent book, Teaching Boys: Developing Classroom Practices that Work. These sessions demonstrate some of the ways in which teachers and schools can work with boys to address social problems associated with violence.
White Ribbon Day Everyday: Beyond harmful constructions of masculinity Michael Flood's report associated with the annual White Ribbon Day campaign is a disturbing snapshot of an enduring problem—violence against women. Referring to recent national surveying, he reports that: Anywhere from one-quarter to one-third, and even up to one-half, of Australian women will experience physical or sexual violence by a man at some point in their lives... In the last year, between five and ten percent of Australian women experienced at least one incident of physical and/
or sexual violence by a man. White Ribbon Day was initiated by a small group of Canadian men in 1991 in response to one man's massacre of fourteen women in Montreal a year earlier. The group began the White Ribbon Campaign to encourage men to speak out against violence against women. In 1999, the United Nations declared 25 November the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women and the White Ribbon has become the symbol for the day. White Ribbon Day is highly positive and significant in raising awareness about this global problem and its devastating social, health and economic effects. However, as the resources associated with this Day attest, effective approaches to addressing violence against women—that promote healthy, equal relationships—among boys and girls require more than consciousness-raising on a single day. As social commentators, researchers and educators point out, violence against women is a complex and broad social problem associated with unequal gender and power relations and harmful constructions of masculinity. Schools play a crucial role in supporting such
awareness through gender just education. Along these lines, the Australian Federal Government's recently introduced National Plan to reduce violence against women, is investing $9 million to support the uptake of 'Respectful Relationships' programs in schools. According to Kevin Rudd, this program is a crucial part of the broader challenge to "change the attitudes of many Australian men, especially young men". As he notes: There are many causes of violence against women but there is one main cause, and that is the attitude of men towards women... (ABC radio) The program is about prevention with the aim of teaching boys from a young age that violence is completely unacceptable. Supporting respectful and gender-just relations is central to Amanda Keddie and Martin Mills' book, Teaching Boys: Developing Classroom Practices that Work. These authors contend that the complex factors that produce particular forms of harmful masculinity associated with physical strength, prowess and domination need to be acknowledged and challenged with boys. Their research examines how the celebration of dominant masculinity endorses a broad spectrum of
harmful behaviours including violence and aggression but also sexual harassment and homophobia as well as many boys' risk-taking, disruptive and disengaged classroom behaviours. Martin's earlier book, Challenging Violence in Schools: An issue of masculinities, foregrounded the clear relationship between the social construction of 'successful' masculinities and violence in schools. Teaching Boys disrupts this relationship. It integrates the best research on boys and schooling with the best research on pedagogies to foreground teacher practice that challenges, and provides alternatives to, harmful constructions of masculinity. Amanda and Martin do not work with negative images of boys. They have been concerned with some of the ways in which the boys' debate has constructed boys as new victims in schools. This is not to say that there are not academic issues with some boys in terms of achievement, engagement and subject selection. There are. However, they contend that rather than treating boys as victims and as deficit (for example, by suggesting that boys can only sit still for short periods of time), and blaming teachers, schools and parents for a 'boy problem', that the complex factors that produce and celebrate particular forms of harmful masculinity need to be acknowledged and challenged. Such challenges, they suggest, will be beneficial to both boys and girls, and their teachers. Their research foregrounds the work of teachers who have been successful in undertaking these challenges.
he led two major investigations into the quality of pedagogy and curriculum in Queensland, the Queensland Longitudinal Study of Teaching and Learning (2008) and Queensland Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting (QCAR) Framework Evaluation Project (2008); and was a key researcher on the Queensland School Reform Longitudinal Study, and on the federallyfunded research project Addressing the Educational Needs of Boys (2003). He has also conducted consultancy work for education departments in New South Wales, Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland, and was a critical friend to schools on the New South Wales Priority Action Schools Project working with disadvantaged schools and to schools involved in Queensland's New Basics Project. Martin is a member of the Queensland Studies Authority's Equity Advisory Committee and on the executive of the Australian Association for Research in Education. He is an editor of the international journal, Discourse: Studies in the cultural politics of education and is an International Editorial Consultant on the leading international journals Gender and Education and British Educational Research Journal. Teaching Boys: Developing Classroom Practices that Work is available through the following url: http://www.allenandunwin.com/default.aspx?pa ge=305&book=9781741752427.
Amanda and Martin are both highly experienced presenters. Their brief biographies are below.
Amanda Keddie
Martin Mills Martin is a Professor at the University of Queensland in the School of Education, where he is Director of Research and Graduate Studies. He is the author of seven books (one single-authored, six co-authored) and numerous articles in leading international and high impact journals. Aside from Teaching Boys: Developing Classroom Practices that Work, these include Challenging Violence in Schools: An issue of masculinities and Boys and Schooling: Beyond structural reform. He also has four co-authored social science textbooks for schools. Martin has been involved with significant and high impact commissioned research projects. For instance,
Amanda is a Research Fellow within the Griffith Institute for Educational Research, Griffith University. She is a leading scholar in the field of gender, schooling and social justice. Her more recent work focuses on issues of globalisation, gender policy and cultural diversity. Amanda has published widely in these areas in leading international journals. Her distinctive contributions have been her theorising of gendered identities and schooling and processes and her articulation of pedagogical frameworks towards gender justice. Amanda has worked as a consultant and adviser to many schools. She has presented her work in the area of gender identity and pedagogy to teachers at various professional development workshops and conferences. This has taken the form of focused work with particular schools in terms of investigating, and presenting, professional reports in the areas of gender and schooling. In this capacity she has worked with professional organisations such as the Association
of Women Educators and the Australian Education Union. Amanda is on the editorial board of Curriculum Perspectives, The Journal of Boyhood Studies and Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education. Maria Delaney, a long-time associate, will be working with Amanda and Martin in supporting committed organisations to address the social problems associated with violence.
Maria Delaney With a Diploma of Teaching, a BA in Women's Studies and Study of Religion, and current studies for a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership, Maria is preparing for Doctoral studies under Martin's supervision. Over the past ten years she has conducted research, and developed and facilitated a range of community education and professional learning and teaching programs in primary and secondary schools in relation to gender, identity and behaviour, boys' education, self-esteem and self management, and body image and eating issues—including as project officer in the Education Queensland Gender Equity Unit, project leader for a cluster implementation of the Federal Government's Success for Boys professional learning program, and as board member and workshop facilitator for the Eating Disorders Association of Queensland. Maria has most recently been engaged as Senior Project Officer for the National Safe and Supportive School Communities project (SSSC), primarily developing learning and teaching content for the highly regarded Bullying. No way! website (www. bullyingnoway.com.au). She is also a leading member of the Association of Women Educators (www.awe. asn.au) and project officer for their Leading Social Change project, which included the development of comprehensive Gender and Education Guidelines (http://www.awe.asn.au/project-leading-socialchange/gender-justice.php), and Links to resources (http://www.awe.asn.au/links.php). This year Maria was the recipient of the Association of Women Educators 2009 Pam Gilbert Award for Gender Equity. Please contact Maria Delaney for further information to organise dates and times for seminars and workshops: delaneymt@gmail.com.
ACT BRANCH RECONCILIATION
2010 AWARDS
It is time to start thinking about nominations for the 2010 Reconciliation Awards to be presented during Reconciliation Week on Wednesday 2 June at Majura Primary. All AEU members welcome!
The Awards acknowledge and foster the good work of AEU members and community members in furthering the aim of Reconciliation in public schools and TAFE. These Awards are funded through the AEU – ACT Branch Bernie Hearn Fund which was established in Bernie’s memory after his death in 1990.
Award and should give evidence of how the nominee is furthering the aims of Reconciliation in his/her work in education. To assist in your nomination, the five steps to Reconciliation are as follows: • Understanding and accepting the history of our shared experience between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the wider community.
Award Criteria:
• Respecting Indigenous cultures and identity.
Nominations should state why the nominee is considered worthy of an
• Recognising that past injustices continue to give rise to present
injustices for Indigenous Australians. • Identifying what more needs to be done and making changes within Australian society. • Revaluing citizenship so that Australians can live in unity and harmony. The AEU office will be seeking formal nominations in the near future via email or an e-Bulletin. Further details will also be available on the AEU website shortly.
Cathy Smith – Assistant to the Secretary [Professional]
SCERTS MODEL .... from page 19 SUMMARY The SCERTS transactional developmental approach is contributing to the efficacy of early intervention programs, for children with ASD. It is guiding communication partners, including service providers, through assessment, program planning and intervention in the critical areas of social communication, emotional regulation and transactional support. The SCERTS Model has the potential to be a lifelong support to people with autism spectrum disorders. The content provides educators and service providers with a much needed global assessment tool. This is relevant to the layers of complexities of students with ASD. The framework also provides us with autism specific objectives and quality teaching methods, which match the particular learning style of students with ASD. The model can only enhance the quality of Individual Learning Plans for students across all settings. The issues discussed
in the section regarding the core domain of emotional regulation provide us with a useable framework for positive behaviour programs for students with ASD in our schools. It is important to inform all significant adults regarding appropriate communication strategies to use with students, resulting in increased communicative competence for all. Bibliography: Prizant, B.M., Wetherby, A.M., Rubin, E. & Laurent. A.C., [2006a]. The SCERTS Model – A Comprehensive Educational Approach for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Volume 1: Assessment. Baltimore. Paul H. Brookes Publishing Company. Prizant, B.M., Wetherby, A.M., Rubin, E. & Laurent. A.C., [2006b]. The SCERTS Model – A Comprehensive Educational Approach for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Volume 2: Program Planning & Intervention. Baltimore. Paul H. Brookes Publishing Company.
PAGE 28 • Official Journal of the AEU - ACT Branch • Public Education Voice
AEU Membership Application ACT Branch PERSONAL DETAILS (Please complete all sections) Surname
Mr/Ms/Miss/Mrs
I hereby apply for membership of the ACT Branch of the Australian Education Union and if admitted agree to abide by the Rules of the Union. AEU Rules can be found at www.aeuact.asn.au
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O Teacher O Assistant O Youth Worker O Indigenous HSLO O Other (please specify)_____________
Work Email
O I wish to be identified as an Indigenous Member EMPLOYMENT DETAILS Workplace Current level and salary step [Go to www.aeuact.asn.au/join-us for the fee schedule]
I agree to pay to the AEU fees owing in accordance with the Union’s schedule of subscriptions. I understand that my fees will be adjusted automatically in line with salary movements. I recognise that I must inform the Union of any other salary or status adjustments otherwise I will not be a fully financial member and may not be eligible for the full range of services. I understand that the Union’s Rules require me to give written notice of resignation.
SECTOR
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O Secondary O Primary O Associate* (Retired/Student Teachers)
* Associate Members need only sign, date, attach payment or complete credit card details. Go straight to signature box.
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