Educator autumn 2013

Autumn 2013 Issue 77 $4.40

It doesn’t add up The urgent need to reform NAPLAN

Short cuts Using Twitter as a PD tool

No fixed address Helping homeless students

It’s time!

Print Post Approved PP 331758/0013

Get moving on Gonski

Contents Autumn 2013

04 My view Bronwyn Bancroft Artist Bronwyn Bancroft is passionate about many things, and public education is one of them.

08 Funding

24 International

Give yourselves a hand

Slash and burn

It’s taken years of determined campaigning, but a fairer school funding system is finally within reach.

Other features 10 NAPLAN

It doesn’t add up NAPLAN testing needs a new approach if it’s to benefit students and schools.

14 Forum A question of quality

Evidence is growing that homework for primary students can be detrimental to academic achievement.

18 Industrial The battle for proper funding Many educators go back to the classroom this year with modest pay increases, worried about reduced education budgets.

22 Teacher education Setting the standards

Universities required to show they are preparing students well for their careers.

Schools and teachers throughout Europe are in crisis in the wake of massive funding cuts.

Regulars 28 Homelessness No fixed address

Schools need to be increasingly aware of how to identify and help students who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

06 From the president 36 Books 38 Casebook

Betty Asmanis-Ploeg

32 Mental health Picking up the pieces

Secondary schools can now call on a new support program to help them in their response to the tragedy of a student’s suicide.

34 Technology Tweeting sweet

Twitter’s short tweets are proving long on value for education professionals who want to keep up with happening issues and events.

www.aeufederal.org.au A summary of the AEU financial statements for the year ending 30 September 2012 will be available at www.aeufederal.org.au on 22 February 2013.

Australian Educator 77 Autumn 2013 3

My view

Bold vision Good teachers set artist Bronwyn Bancroft on the road to success and she has been repaying the debt in many different ways.

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by Steve Packer

rtist, arts administrator and activist Bronwyn Bancroft is passionate about many things, and public education is one of them. “As any wise person will tell you, education is our future. Cutting back on it is ludicrous and short-sighted,” she says.

She knows good teachers can turn young people’s lives around and need look no further than herself for a persuasive example. “Having good teachers and mentors has been essential for me,” she says. “Not only in the Aboriginal community, where there were older people I could rely on for advice and wisdom, but also in the school system.”

Bancroft went to public schools in rural Tenterfield, NSW, in the 1960s and early 1970s. At first she was not a good student; she was “naughty and lost interest”. Then the high school had an influx of first- and second-year teachers who made the difference. “They were very progressive young teachers who changed the culture in the school. Everyone developed a high level of aspiration.”

Bancroft went on to art school in Canberra, gaining a Diploma of Visual Communications. “It was just after the Whitlam years, so it was free,” she says.

“Otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to go.”

Her father, who was from the Djanbun clan of the Bundjalung nation, had limited education due to discrimination 4 Autumn 2013 Australian Educator 77

and worked away from home, cutting railway sleepers. Her mother has Scottish-Polish ancestry and worked at home as a dressmaker.

Later, in Sydney, Bancroft completed masters degrees in studio practice and visual arts (painting). Over the past 30 years, Bancroft has established herself as a prolific artist with a freedom of expression that favours vivid colours and bold forms. She has worked in many media including painting, illustration, fashion design and textiles, jewellery design and sculpture.

Her art is in many of Australia’s major public galleries and private collections around the world. She also creates public art for hospitals, sports centres and the like. “I’m not into the fine artist category.

I don’t think anyone has to be defined,” she says. “Much to the horror of the people who want me to be a fine artist, I’ve consistently illustrated [and sometimes written] children’s books since 1991.”

Her imagery is also used extensively in health campaigns including HIV/AIDS prevention, smoking prevention and babycare for Aboriginal mothers. “I don’t sell that work commercially like a design

studio would. It’s a struggle in terms of financial remuneration, but I prefer to use it for improving standards of living and standards of understanding.”

Art can be a ‘message stick’, she says.

“The visual language, accompanied with good, thoughtful words, is a powerful tool.

When you meet people who have been given material around health strategies... it can be life-changing.”

The oldest of her three children, Jack Manning Bancroft, is CEO of the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME) and his mother has been on its board since its inception in 2005. The not-for-profit organisation increases senior high school attendance and university admission rates for Indigenous students. “Next year we’ll go to 3,000 mentors and 1,300 Aboriginal kids nationwide. For these kids, the retention rate is 100 per cent,” she says. “It’s something the education departments should have been interested in a long time ago.”

In 2010, Jack was made NSW Young Australian of the Year for his work with AIME. “He’s a doer,” says his mother – and there’s little doubt where he got that from. After founding her own company, Designer Aboriginals, 28 years ago, Bancroft was one of the artists who established the Boomalli Aboriginal Artists Co-operative in 1987, and she is still heavily involved in it. She’s a patron of the Public Education Foundation and has been a board member for many organisations, including the National Gallery of Australia and Tranby Aboriginal College.

Meanwhile, her passion for education hasn’t abated. She holds painting workshops in schools (“without brushes!”) and is completing her Doctorate of Creative Arts. It includes an analysis of whether female Aboriginal artists in NSW suffer from inequities. “They do,” she says. l Steve Packer is a freelance writer.

Hear, hear!

Singer and activist Billy Bragg has slammed UK education reforms saying that creativity will suffer.

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We seem about to go back to a state of affairs where decent education in the arts will only be available to those able to pay for it. The [UK] coalition government are about to introduce a new exam system that threatens to exclude creative subjects from the core qualifications expected of our 16-year-olds.

The English Baccalaureate, the new GCSE [General Certificate of Secondary Education] performance measure, requires that schools publish the number of students that get A-C grades across five subject areas at GCSE level. These are: English, maths, science, modern foreign languages and humanities (history and geography).

These subjects will be expected to take up 80 per cent of the curriculum.

Under such a regime, there is a real danger that the creative arts will struggle to compete with the core subjects. And, at a time of cuts to the education budget, the pressure on schools to dump subjects like music and drama in favour of those that offer high marks in performances tables will only grow.

The insistence that knowledge is more important than creativity, that the latter will flourish if left to its own devices, is, like the English Baccalaureate, a throwback to the pre-art school days of the early 1950s.

Under the English Baccalaureate, with its reliance on a single, end-ofcourse exam, the child with the creative imagination will always lose out to the child with the ability to recall knowledge learned by rote.

And it’s not just the creatively talented kids who will suffer.

Evidence shows that pupils from low-income families who take part in arts activities at school are three times more likely to go on to higher education.

Young people do better in English and maths subjects if they study the arts.

They are more easily employable, more likely to vote, to volunteer and to get a degree.

You might add to that they will be more likely to get into the [pop] charts too.

As has been noted elsewhere, there has been a steady decline over the past decade of state-educated kids getting into the top 10. A couple of years ago, The Word magazine compared the charts

from 1990, when 80 per cent of artists were state-educated, with those of 2010 and found the charts now dominated by those who went to private schools.

Now, I realise that private education is something that no-one really wants to talk about in the UK. Politicians would rather lay the blame for inequality at the door of the under-funded state system than discuss the excessive influence of the privately educated. But the fact is that, for the first time since the 1960s, our society is dominated by the 10 per cent of the population who go to private school.

The Prime Minister went to Eton; the Archbishop of Canterbury went to Eton; the Mayor of London went to Eton: even the man they tell me is the new Billy Bragg – Frank Turner – went to Eton.

The issue here is not one of social class, but of access.

This is an edited extract from the John Peel Lecture, delivered by Billy Bragg in the UK in November 2012. l Australian Educator 77 Autumn 2013 5

From the president

Crunch time for reform The release last February of the long-awaited report from the Gonski review made 2012 a historic year for school funding reform in Australia.

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s you will be aware, the Gonski review found that we invest far too little in education and our funding arrangements are inequitable, inefficient and failing too many of our children. Gonski warned that failure to act urgently to correct the situation would have enormous social and economic consequences for communities and the nation.

The AEU welcomed the report and felt vindicated for its years of campaigning in this area. We called on governments to commit to the funding and legislative reform 6 Autumn 2013 Australian Educator 77

necessary to implement the Gonksi recommendations by the end of the year.

Further, strong campaigning by the AEU and its members boosted public support for the call. It came from parents, community and welfare groups, business leaders and others.

On September 3, the federal government announced its intention to legislate for a new funding model consistent with the Gonski recommendations. This was to ensure that every child has access to a worldclass education. It was a significant milestone in the progress towards fundamental reform after decades of flawed funding arrangements and under-investment in public education.

We do not underestimate the difficulties for federal, state and territory leaders in negotiating the introduction and roll-out of the new legislation and additional investment between 2014 and 2020. However, the fundamental responsibility of governments to ensure high-quality education for every child, regardless of their background, circumstances or where they live, has been recognised.

New framework The Australian Education Bill 2012, introduced in parliament on November 28, provides the foundation for a new legislative framework of reform directions and investment based on the Gonski recommendations. It is a formidable agenda, but one that is vitally necessary.

Economic analysis by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and the release of the international TIMSS and PIRLS test results in December have added to the urgency Gonski established.

Contact Angelo Gavrielatos at angelo@aeufederal.org.au

...the fundamental responsibility of governments to ensure high-quality education for every child... has been recognised.

The PwC analysis notes that, while Australia’s system of primary and secondary education is good, “good is not great”. It says failing to reform our nation’s school system now could cost the economy more than one trillion dollars by the end of the century, with “knock-on effects to health, innovation, civic engagement and crime rates”.

The TIMSS and PIRLS (mathematics, science and reading) results for Australia show that students attending schools with reported resource shortages tended to achieve lower test scores than students at schools where no shortages were reported. Alarmingly, more than half of Year 4 students were at least “somewhat affected” by resource shortages relating to reading (47 per cent), mathematics (54 per cent) and science (68 per cent).

The 2012 NAPLAN national report, released by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, presents even more evidence of the need for school funding reform. It further illustrates that lower NAPLAN results correlate to Indigenous status, degree of rurality/remoteness, and lower levels of parental education and occupational status.

The weeks ahead are critical to achieving our long-time political objective of full, fair and equitable funding for public schools.

Full potential It is beyond doubt that schools need the resources to deliver the programs necessary to give every child the opportunity to succeed. If we are serious about our future productivity and prosperity, we need to pay more than lip service to the urgent need for funding reform, which will allow every child to reach his or her full potential.

And the only way we can achieve excellence and equity for all is through reform, which targets the provision of more funding to where it is most needed.

That is why the federal government’s funding reform bill is so important. The need for change has been demonstrated in report after report, and the bill provides the platform.

The state premiers and the federal government must sit down and negotiate a new funding agreement with the Gonski recommendations for investment and reform as its foundation.

The prime minister has made it clear that the federal government is committed to finalising negotiations by March.

The weeks ahead are critical to achieving our long-time political objective of full, fair and equitable funding for public schools.

It is in the interests of our children, our communities and the prosperity of the nation as a whole.

Angelo Gavrielatos AEU Federal President

Australian Educator 77 Autumn 2013 7

Funding

Give yourselves a hand It’s taken years of determined campaigning, but a fairer school funding system is finally within reach.

The AEU has called on all political parties to support the Gonski bill, introduced at the end of the parliamentary session late last year.

AEU federal president Angelo Gavrielatos says there’s nothing more important for the Federal Parliament in 2013 than the passage of the bill.

“This is a test of the commitment of our political leaders to the education of all children in Australia,” he says.

The bill confirms the Gillard Government’s intention to introduce a fairer school funding model, based on the key recommendations of the independent Gonski review of school funding.

The Gonski review called for an overhaul of the way schools are funded and for an extra investment in education.

Members have been vigorously lobbying for years for changes to the funding model. Then, after the Gonski review report was handed down, the battle stepped up with the high-profile ‘I give a Gonski’ campaign to send Canberra the message about the widespread community support for the report’s recommendations and the need for change.

In the months before the bill was introduced to Parliament, a final flurry of activities took place around the country including a Community Day of Action in Sydney, forums involving School Education Minister Peter Garrett and Opposition spokesperson for education Christopher Pyne, and a Gonski Day at Urangan Point Public School at Hervey Bay.

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Australian Educator 77 Autumn 2013 9

NAPLAN

It doesn’t add up NAPLAN testing needs a new approach if it’s to benefit students and schools.

by Tracey Evans

Briefly n Many research studies in Australia and around the world have shown the flaws in highstakes testing programs. n Concerns include a narrowing of the curriculum as teachers ‘teach to the test’ and a shift in resources from areas such as music, art and sport to help fund NAPLAN preparation.

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he National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy has been the subject of vigorous debate since it was introduced five years ago, but 2012 may well have been a watershed in the program’s short lifespan.

In April, state and territory education ministers called on the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority to investigate concerns over “practices such as excessive test preparation and the potential narrowing of the curriculum as a result of the

10 Autumn 2013 Australian Educator 77

publication of NAPLAN data on My School”.

A ‘Say no to NAPLAN campaign’ launched by a group of educators a month later urged parents to boycott the tests. Meanwhile 140 academics from universities around the country signed a letter saying they were “appalled” by the government’s introduction of a “high-stakes testing regime” despite international evidence that learning is not improved.

Research by The Whitlam Institute at the University of Western Sydney, released in November, brought a further storm of controversy when it revealed the level of stress felt by students and teachers because of NAPLAN. “As the NAPLAN results become linked with funding and policy decisions, pressure for improving scores has vastly impacted on teachers, their practices and the curriculum.

Educators are increasingly speaking out about the associated work pressures, higher workloads, narrowing pedagogy and diminishing time for quality teaching and learning,” according to the report.

“Though further work is required, it is evident that the dramatic shift towards performance that NAPLAN has come to represent is having an impact on students, both in terms of their educational experience and, for a significant number, their personal well-being,” the report said.

Online testing AEU federal president Angelo Gavrielatos wrote to Schools Education Minister Peter Garrett in September, recommending “more sophisticated and educationally sound approaches to the development and administration of

“As the NAPLAN results become linked with funding and policy decisions, pressure for improving scores has vastly impacted on teachers, their practices and the curriculum.”

NAPLAN” in response to the concerns about the testing regime “and the archaic practices employed in its administration”.

The minister agreed that the AEU’s suggestion of delivering NAPLAN online would provide a better way of testing and help to reduce stress.

Gavrielatos says online tests could be delivered over a longer period or on an ongoing basis. “That would address one of the biggest problems at the moment which is the intense pressure on students and teachers in the lead-up to the week in which the current ‘highstakes’ test is conducted.

“In an online mode a larger range of items could be delivered, both at the upper and lower levels of ability.

That would decrease the frustration struggling students, in particular, feel with the current ‘one size fits all’ test and provide a more effective test of the knowledge and skills of high-performing students,” says Gavrielatos.

“Research suggests that stress makes learning more difficult, not more likely.”

Dr Greg Thompson School of Education, Murdoch University

Unintended consequences A survey of almost 1000 teachers last year, by Murdoch University’s Dr Greg Thompson from the School of Education, has found that NAPLAN is of little benefit in improving literacy and numeracy, creating less inclusive classroom environments and lower student engagement.

“What the majority of teachers surveyed perceive as happening in their schools is almost identical to what was found in research in the US and the UK, namely that tests like NAPLAN have unintended consequences including a very negative impact on learning,” says Thompson.

“The unintended consequences include excessive test preparation that affects schools and pedagogy in two ways. Firstly, a narrowing of curriculum choice – some subjects get squeezed out so that more time can be

spent on test preparation. Secondly, subjects like literacy and numeracy are becoming focused only on what is assessed in the NAPLAN tests, whereas obviously literacy and numeracy are far broader fields of enquiry and learning than can be assessed in a series of short answer, multiple choice tests.

The survey also uncovered teacher perceptions of increased anxiety among students, teachers, parents and school administrators as a result of NAPLAN. “Research suggests that stress makes learning more difficult, not more likely,” Thompson says.

The survey of teachers is the first part of a three-year research project, which will also consider the effects of NAPLAN on other members of the school community, including students, parents, principals and other education leaders.

For more information about the Australian Research Council-funded project, go to http://effectsofnaplan. edu.au

Australian Educator 77 Autumn 2013 11

NAPLAN

“Online testing would also reduce the time required for marking and data input and allow much faster and more useful feedback for teachers, students and schools,” he says. “It would also allow for more comprehensive and meaningful reporting to parents.”

“NAPLAN is a national disgrace and standardised testing is a national disgrace.”

Body of evidence The AEU submitted a paper reviewing research into NAPLAN, as well as feedback from members, to ACARA to show the ever-growing body of evidence citing concerns about the method, analyses and use of high-stakes testing in schools.

Founding editor of the National Indigenous Times Chris Graham argued that we’re failing to learn the lessons of our own past. “What’s so frustrating is that we know what works in Aboriginal schools — respected Aboriginal educator Chris Sarra has a remarkable record of turning around black schools and students with his ‘Stronger Smarter’ program,” Graham wrote in online newsletter Crikey.

Sarra’s approach is that “one size does 12 Autumn 2013 Australian Educator 77

not fit all”, wrote Graham. “Different schools have different challenges.

Sarra’s approach is to build pride and self-esteem not just in learning, but in learning as a blackfella. Everything else follows.”

Out of tune Adding weight to claims that the school resources used on NAPLAN were reducing those available for other areas such as music, art and sport, the Victorian government announced in early December an inquiry into music education in public schools. The

inquiry is investigating why fewer schools are teaching music and also examining whether music curriculum has been affected by NAPLAN. Victorian Opera music director Richard Gill has no doubt that NAPLAN is the problem.

“NAPLAN is a national disgrace and standardised testing is a national disgrace,” he told ABC News. “The money that’s being spent on that could be used to teach teachers how to teach music or to get music into schools in a serious way.”

The resources available for physical education are also being affected, Australian Educator reported last year. “We’ve had feedback and there is anecdotal evidence, particularly in regard to primary schools, that PE is one of the subjects that is marginalised in an effort to maximise the time spent getting ready for NAPLAN testing,” says Shane Pill, a lecturer in physical education at Flinders University in Adelaide.

Tracey Evans is Australian Educator’s commissioning editor.

AITSL is funded by the Australian Government

Making good teachers and school leaders even better As educators, we aspire to enable all young Australians to become successful learners, confident and creative individuals and active and informed citizens. To fulfil this aspiration, we need to further develop the talents of Australia’s teachers and school leaders. That is why the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) is working with the profession and drawing on rigorous research to encourage in all Australian schools a culture that fosters and supports learning and development.

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A professional learning culture is most likely to develop when there is a high degree of leadership support for teacher learning and risk taking and when there is a high degree of staff interaction and co-dependence.

Consequently strategies designed to produce these conditions need to be implemented.

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Effective school leaders work to build a community that is focused on the continuous improvement of teaching and learning. The Charter supports school leaders by highlighting that collaborative, future-focused and relevant learning has a positive impact on improving teacher practice.

Peter Cole (2010)

School leaders have a central role to play in supporting teachers to establish and sustain a culture of continuous reflection and improvement for the benefit of all students. The National Professional Standard for Principals therefore emphasises the importance of leading teaching and learning and developing self and others.

Observation and Feedback Dandenong North Primary School (VIC) use observation and feedback as a central component of their performance and development work.

Watch it here: aitsl.edu.au/performance

Professional Learning Animation Here’s a creative and engaging animation that illustrates our collective aspiration to add even more quality to the education of young Australians.

Watch it here: aitsl.edu.au/professionallearning

The Australian Teacher Performance and Development Framework (the Framework) and Australian Charter for the Professional Learning of Teachers and School Leaders (the Charter), both highlight the elements required to build an effective teacher performance and development culture in all Australian schools.

With a focus on development, there comes an expectation that a school leader will create and support conditions for observation, feedback, reflection on practice and effective professional learning.

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There is substantial evidence that collaborative professional learning that connects professionals together is much more likely to change practice and can have schoolwide influence that positively impacts upon learners.

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Harris & Jones (2012), Connect to learn: learn to connect Crucially, school leaders are encouraged to position themselves as the lead learners, modelling inquiry and disciplined collaboration: ensuring that teams are working in purposeful ways, making the most of time and expertise to ensure the best possible outcomes for all students.

To find out more, see www.aitsl.edu.au/performance and www.aitsl.edu.au/professionallearning

For more information: 03 9944 1200 aitsl.edu.au

performance@aitsl.edu.au facebook.com/aitsl

professionallearning@aitsl.edu.au

twitter.com/aitsl

youtube.com/aitsleduau

Forum

A question of quality Evidence is growing that homework for primary students can be detrimental to academic achievement.

by Cyndi Tebbel

Briefly n A review of research on

homework shows that quality, not quantity, has the most value for primary students. n A new book gives parents and teachers a tool to evaluate the benefits of take-home tasks. n If homework is assigned, it should be short, creative and focus on discovery and inquiry.

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hen French president François Hollande said last year that homework should be banned for children under the age of 11, it gave new impetus to a long-running international debate on the efficacy of take-home tasks.

In France, the proposed ban for primary-aged children is seen as an issue of equity because it removes a critical disadvantage for students whose parents don’t have the time or ability to help them with their homework.

Closer to home, new research from two Australian academics indicates that, even when parents are engaged with homework, there is little evidence to show that increasing its volume, frequency or duration leads to better academic achievement for primary school students. Some types of homework can actually lower achievement in 14 Autumn 2013 Australian Educator 77

those grades, says Richard Walker, coordinator of the Master of Education (Educational Psychology) program at the University of Sydney.

In the book, Reforming Homework: Practices, Learning and Policy, Walker and co-author Mike Horsley, director of the Learning and Teaching Education Research Centre at Central Queensland University, reviewed international research on homework outcomes.

Reforming Homework doesn’t advocate a homework ban or discount the value of drill and practice. Its aim is to give teachers and parents a tool to help them evaluate the benefits of take-home tasks because evidence shows that, when it comes to homework, it’s quality not quantity that counts.

For example, while research shows that homework can build stronger parent-child relationships, Walker says it can also have negative effects “if parents are over-controlling or interfering when children work on their homework”.

For primary students, homework also competes with “other valued activities that help students become well-rounded individuals”. For it to be effective, he adds that homework must be more than “an afterthought” or a convenient way to catch up on things not covered in class.

The book recommends teachers give as much attention to homework as they do to planning the in-school curriculum and that by developing a ‘homework curriculum’ they could “strike a balance between [drill and practice] and tasks that motivate students and encourage self-directed learning”.

Dr Eva Dobozy, a senior lecturer at the School of Education at Curtin University, agrees with the recommendations in Reforming Homework and says that if homework is

“…it’s the effort children put into homework, rather than the time, that makes the biggest impact.” assigned for primary students, it should be limited to creative, projectbased tasks that take no longer than 15 minutes to complete, and shouldn’t include rote numeracy or spelling.

“For children already struggling in class, that type of homework, more often than not, simply turns them off learning,” Dobozy says.

To aid teachers in developing better homework, Dobozy has designed a colour-coded classification system of assignment options that focus on discovery and inquiry. (To read her paper, enter ‘Homework: its forms and functions revisited, 2010’ into your search engine).

Examples of assignments include having children ask parents about what homework was like when they were at school, discussing a current event or a topic already covered at school.

Presentations to class might then be in the form of an oral report or a poster, which don’t require a lot of written feedback from the teacher.

“A holistic education shouldn’t focus only on academic development, but also on social and emotional development,” says Dobozy.

“Most importantly, learning should be fun – because it’s the effort children put into homework, rather than the time, that makes the biggest impact.” ● Cyndi Tebbel is a freelance writer.

Homework revisited Teachers have mixed opinions on the value of homework.

Sallyann Geale Exeter Primary School, Tasmania

Chris Crerar

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n my 30 years as a classroom teacher, contention about the value of homework is one of the few things that have remained a constant. Essentially, there are people who believe homework is beneficial and those who don’t. But, as a teacher and a parent of four, my view is that homework provides many benefits, but mostly only when the conditions are right.

These conditions include things like ensuring homework is directly linked to the student’s specific needs and that it reflects the child’s current learning at school. They include making sure the homework task has been clearly explained by the teacher and is achievable in a relatively short timeframe so that it reinforces the belief that the student is a successful learner. And they include the provision of a supportive home environment, such as somewhere to concentrate away from distractions, access to the tools they need and, most importantly, the interest, support and encouragement of those who care for them.

With these conditions in place, homework can reinforce or extend what’s been learned at school. It can

“…homework can be the impetus for valuable discussions between parent and child…” help students develop independent learning and time-management skills, and it can provide another opportunity for them to take responsibility for their own learning.

But one of the greatest advantages of homework is that it can provide parents with a window to their child’s learning. Not only can parents see what and how their child is learning,

but homework can be the impetus for valuable discussions between parent and child – an opportunity to share and consider ideas, concepts and opinions that may have otherwise been left unsaid.

It’s good to remember homework doesn’t have to happen at a table or desk; it might be in the car where you have a captive audience.

Wherever it takes place, homework can be a great way for parents to connect with their child. But getting the conditions right for that to occur isn’t always easy and banning homework outright is tantamount to throwing the baby out with the bath water. Perhaps it’s time for a little more homework! ● Australian Educator 77 Autumn 2013 15

Forum

Lisa Widdeson

Mullaloo Beach Primary School, Western Australia

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“Too often, homework such as project work needs a lot of parent input, as the children may not have the skills required.” enhance their reading. Every fortnight, children are given a news topic which they have to prepare to present orally to the class. No homework is assigned on weekends or during holidays because I feel children need time to play and rest.

I encourage parents to alternate sitting down with a pencil with counting, reading street signs or playing games while they’re shopping or riding in the car.

At times, I give children a task on finding an interesting fact about whatever theme we’re working on in class. But it’s not a set thing – if children are interested in it, they will do it and so there’s no pressure on them or their parents.

I have heard that some parents are demanding homework for preprimary children and I think teachers will eventually be setting homework for these students. If homework is to be sent home, it should be purposeful, relevant and a revision of what is being covered in the class. ●

Marco Attrill

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hen I first started teaching 23 years ago, I thought it was really important for children to do homework.

But I’ve always taught the junior grades and my belief now is that, if they’re going to do homework, it has to be relevant to what’s being taught in the classroom. Too often, homework such as project work needs a lot of parent input, as the children may not have the skills required. Homework shouldn’t be stressful for the children or parents. I’ve also noticed a huge shift in the amount of after-school activities that children are involved in. Trying to fit in homework just adds to the pressure and stress of families.

Homework is about revision and consolidation and, for Year 1, it shouldn’t be any longer than 15 minutes a day. The only homework I assign for my class from Monday to Thursday consists of reading a book and practising sight vocabulary.

We also encourage parents to take their children to the public library.

Children can choose from a variety of books at different reading levels and can be encouraged to select books to

Lynelle Whittaker

Seven Hills State School, Queensland

Yme Tulleners - kirkland photography

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t this school, we don’t use the word homework for the early years; we call it home learning.

Our home learning policy was developed as a collaborative project by staff and the P&C. In my class, children get a weekly page of activities every Friday and then we review the home learning book the following Thursday. It’s designed to be flexible rather than prescriptive, so families can decide whether the tasks are done during the week or on the weekend.

If children are struggling, we’ll talk with parents to find out if there are any issues we should know about. There’s always that support because we don’t want homework to be stressful for anybody. One little boy in my class last year decided to do his homework here at school. There’s no expectation that everything will be done – we tell the parents ‘do what you can’.

I hope they spend around five to 10 minutes each night on home reading, and word and number practice. With reading, children choose their own books to take home and we include optional activities as a

“There’s no expectation that everything will be done – we tell the parents ‘do what you can’.” follow-up, like drawing a new front cover or acting out the story. Often the children will decide how they’ll practise spelling or writing. I always try to link tasks to the investigations we’re doing in class and may include talking points,

science and creative activities like making art, going on a hunt around the house and even making their bed.

It’s about making home learning more about responsibilities, routine and fun. It doesn’t always have to be about school work.

I’ve been teaching for 31 years and my attitude to homework has changed over the years, but I would be sad if it was banned – and I think parents would be very disappointed – because it helps children consolidate their classroom learning.

It also allows them to show parents what they’re learning, which creates an opportunity for communication between parent and child, home and school. ● Australian Educator 77 Autumn 2013 17

Industrial

The battle for proper funding Many educators go back to the classroom this year with modest pay increases, worried about reduced education budgets.

by Lesley Parker

Briefly n Recent pay rises around the

country have been in the order of 2.5 to 4 per cent a year. n Victoria’s teachers are still battling for an agreement. n Even where pay deals have been completed, the fight continues over schools funding.

I

n Victoria, teachers and support staff are marking Valentine’s Day not with roses but a strike, feeling jilted by a Premier who had promised to make them the best paid in the country.

As Victoria’s teachers tried to reach a deal with Ted Baillieu’s government, new agreements were sealed last year in NSW, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT. This year, Northern Territory teachers are readying to lodge a claim ahead of their current agreement’s expiry at the end of August. Tasmania will commence negotiations in late 2013 ahead of their agreement’s expiry in February 2014.

Several other states will follow in 2014.

But there was no honeymoon period even for those states where pay negotiations were completed. In NSW, for instance, teachers are fighting deep cuts to the education budget. And, of course, all states and territories are fighting for governments to “give a Gonski” about that report’s blueprint for reform.

18 Autumn 2013 Australian Educator 77

Here’s a roundup of what’s been happening with pay negotiations.

Victoria The state government has refused to budge on its stance that any pay rise above 2.5 per cent a year had to come from productivity gains. This was despite the Premier’s promise to make Victorian teachers the best paid in Australia.

It was partly on that basis that the Victorian branch of the AEU sought a 30 per cent pay increase over three years. The branch reduced the claim to 12 per cent, but when the Baillieu government greeted that offer with silence the union resolved to take further action.

Among other things, teachers refused to add comments to end-of-year school reports and announced they’d be working a 38-hour week when school resumed this year to highlight the many hours of unpaid work that teachers do.

They also announced the Valentine’s Day strike.

“We generally don’t put much faith in politicians’ promises,” AEU Victorian branch president-elect Meredith Peace told Australian Educator. “But this one wasn’t a one-off, it wasn’t done in the last minute of an election. It was a pledge first made at the 2008 Liberal Party conference, where [Baillieu] waxed lyrical about teachers and the importance of teaching for the social and economic future of this state.”

In the absence of an agreement, Victorian teachers rank number seven out of eight in teacher pay scales across the country. If they were to accept 2.5 per cent, they’d move up just one rank, Peace says. At 4 per cent a year, by the second year of the agreement they’d be second highest.

Beyond pay, Peace says teachers’ opposition to the government’s proposal to introduce performance pay is “non-negotiable”. Another key objective is halving the level of contract employment. One in five teachers and 45 per cent of support staff are on short-term contracts in Victoria. The union is also seeking a maximum class size of 20.

New South Wales The NSW Teachers’ Federation concluded negotiations for a new award for school teachers in November, then went straight back into talks over proposals for TAFE “para professionals” and deep cuts to public education.

The new school teachers award includes a 2.5 per cent increase in salaries and allowances from January, with all existing conditions preserved, and expires after just one year.

TAFE NSW is trying to use the EBA negotiations to introduce a number of “para professional” classifications on lower salaries, longer hours and worse conditions to replace teachers, state president Maurie Mulheron says.

TAFE institutes have also initiated “reviews” that will target both trade and non-trade courses for cutting, with 800 teaching and support positions to go – not counting the loss of hundreds of part-time casual teaching positions.

“Since being elected, the Coalition government has launched a devastating attack on public education that includes the suppression of wages, cuts of $10 billion over four years and the shedding of 15,000 positions from the public sector,” Mulheron says.

“The public education system will be forced to endure a cut of at least $1.6 billion with an accompanying loss of

Hwa Goh

thousands of positions, which will impact on every student in every school and TAFE college.”

The Department of Education has been decimated, he says, leaving schools isolated and with little support.

“The most recent cuts in the schools portfolio will impact on all students, particularly those with the greatest need for support,” he says.

Queensland Queensland teachers also concluded a new agreement last year, the main element being a 2.7 per cent a year pay increase each September from 2012 to 2014. The Queensland Teachers’ Union also fended off a government plan to remove many conditions.

“The government backed away from its attempts to remove more than 20 teaching conditions from the award and agreement and turn them into matters of ‘departmental policy’ that could be changed or chopped at any time with no consultation,” state president Kevin Bates says.

“The government also backed away from a number of impositions included in the first offer, such as a proposed three-year wage freeze for beginning

Victorian teachers’ stopwork rally last year.

teachers and a new – undefined – formal process upon which teachers’ annual increments would have depended.”

Agreement was reached shortly after members voted for work bans, work limitations and a 24-hour stoppage to support their claim.

“Throughout the campaign, our 44,000 members remained committed to the position that teaching conditions equal learning conditions, and they’re worth too much to lose,” Bates says.

South Australia SA teachers secured an increase of 3 per cent a year for three years in November after eight months of negotiations. The agreement places most members in the top third of teacher salaries across the nation, SA branch president Correna Haythorpe says.

The agreement also includes an increase in paid maternity leave from 14 weeks to 16-20 weeks, a new leadership

structure with more salary incentives and a funding commitment that will protect school and preschool funding for the life of the agreement. “The government’s funding commitment will ensure that schools and preschools have certainty of staffing and budget security,” Haythorpe says.

However, the state government wouldn’t commit to creating more permanent jobs or reducing class sizes to help teachers manage students with more complex needs, such as disabilities and behavioural problems.

Haythorpe says teachers will continue to campaign on these issues in the lead-up to the state election scheduled for next year.

“We were successful in achieving many of our goals,” she says. “As for those that remain, we will campaign over the next year and make them state election issues.”

Western Australia A new agreement was reached in Western Australia in late 2011, allowing for a 3.75 per cent increase at the end of that year, 4 per cent in December 2012 and 4.25 per cent at the end of this year.

There’s also an annual increment in Australian Educator 77 Autumn 2013 19

Industrial

remote and country allowances.

“It’s interesting to note that our government started in the same way as we’ve seen the Queensland, Victorian and NSW governments start – seeking to strip agreements of conditions,” state president Anne Gisborne says.

A political campaign resolved that.

WA is now focused on the state election scheduled for March 9 and policy issues such as schools funding.

Northern Territory The NT agreement expires on August 31 and the union will lodge an official log of claims in May. “It will include not only a pay increase but also significant claims for more effective resourcing for schools and an expectation for a review of how schools are staffed in the NT,” local AEU president Matthew Cranitch says.

“Currently we’re the only jurisdiction in the country that staffs on attendance rather than enrolments. This has had a significant impact on our members, who find that class sizes and duties are significantly higher than they should be if the school was in fact staffed on actual enrolment numbers.”

Cranitch says the union intends to press for NT teachers to be close to the highest paid in the country again – a position they held last decade. That would mean an increase of at least 3.5 per cent a year.

“In the NT there are significant cost-of-living pressures impacting on recruitment and retention of teachers and these need to be reflected in salary comparisons with other states and territories,” he says.

Darwin is now officially the most expensive capital city in which to rent, he says, power and water prices rose 30 per cent as of January 1 and fuel prices are generally 20 to 25 cents more than in other capital cities.

“As most of our teachers come from the southern states, many are shocked at the costs of renting and do not stay.”

20 Autumn 2013 Australian Educator 77

Salaries around the country Graduate teacher

Top of classroom scale

NSW

$59,706

$89,050

WA

$60,545

$91,567

NT

$62,017

$88,941

ACT

$58,041

$86,881

SA

$59,629

$85,999

TAS

$57,565

$84,184

VIC

$56,984

$84,059

QLD

$58,437

$79,906

Source: Australian Educator survey. As of December 2012, ranked by top of scale.

The complexities of teaching in a remote environment with a significant proportion of Indigenous and EAL [English as another language] students mean that “teachers here should be acknowledged and rewarded for their work in an appropriate way”.

The union will seek a reduction in the average class size from 27 students and rental subsidies for educators living in urban areas, not just remote locations.

Tasmania Teacher agreements for schools and TAFE, start from March and provide for a 2 per cent pay rise in 2012 and 2013. Clauses covering excessive teacher workload and consultation practices have also been included in the agreement. However, concern is growing over managerial responsibilities for principals.

“Workload is looming large as an issue for leaders in 2013,” Tasmanian branch president Terry Polglase says. New performance management arrangements

will require each employee to have an annual plan and the union estimates this process will take five hours per employee.

“In a workplace with 40 employees, this equates to a day per school week of a leader’s time in the workplace,” Polglase says.

“For leaders to remain focused on educational leadership, governments must provide additional assistance to ease the workloads for those involved.”

He notes that the next round of pay negotiations, in 2013 for a 2014 agreement, could be quite different.

“Tasmanian teachers have for the last decade had a salary relativity arrangement in place. It provided teachers with the average salary of those working in other jurisdictions.

This has now been terminated.

“The lead-up to our next state election in 2014 may see a very different approach taken by our union members.”

ACT School teachers in the ACT also face negotiations in 2013/2014, though Canberra Institute of Technology teachers go into talks this year on both pay and workload and school support staff are involved in negotiations on the public service award.

“We are pushing for teacher assistants to have the time to work with teachers to prepare programs,” AEU ACT branch secretary Glenn Fowler says of support staff.

“It generates real benefits for students if assistants are involved in preparation.”

The union will also be watching with interest the move to greater school autonomy or “empowerment”, he says.

There’s concern that methods being trialled for calculating school staffing budgets could lead to pressure on principals to hire less experienced and therefore cheaper teachers.

Lesley Parker is a freelance writer.

2013 How the Brain Learns: What lessons are there for teaching?

4–6 August 2013 Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre Melbourne, Vic Enquiries and registrations: Margaret Taylor T: 03 9277 5403 F: 03 9277 5544 E: taylor@acer.edu.au

www.acer.edu.au/conference Australian Council for Educational Research

Teacher education

Setting the standards New national standards for teacher education require universities to show that they are preparing students well for their careers in the classroom.

by Carolyn Rance

Briefly n A suite of new measures should lead to improved teacher education programs. n Current teachers can expect more access to professional development. n Governments are yet to explain how the new measures will be funded.

C

ommonwealth, state and territory governments have endorsed national professional standards for teachers and principals, and the accreditation of teacher education courses, promising a more consistent approach.

The standards are part of a suite of measures developed by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). Together they

22 Autumn 2013 Australian Educator 77

spell out the skills and knowledge that teachers need, and should lead to improved training for new teachers and more professional development for the current workforce.

The resulting nationally consistent approach to teacher education and registration should help provide schools with the next generation of confident, competent educators.

“Improvements to initial teacher education program design and delivery should ensure students are better prepared to teach,” says AEU federal president and AITSL director Angelo Gavrielatos. “All universities will have to demonstrate that their graduate teachers meet professional standards.”

From this year, all institutions preparing teachers for registration and employment in schools will be required to submit their programs for formal accreditation at least once every five years. New programs seeking accreditation and existing

courses seeking reaccreditation will be subject to review by panels drawn from a pool of trained people including teachers, principals, education academics, specialists and community members.

Panels will assess programs against new graduate teacher standards that define what new teachers should know and be able to do.

Universities will need to show that their courses can provide graduates with the knowledge and skills required to plan and manage learning programs for students with a range of physical, cultural, linguistic and intellectual characteristics.

Panel members will need to be convinced that course content ensures student teachers gain understanding of subjects, curriculum content and teaching strategies, and develop the skills needed to create rapport with students, manage their behaviour and support their wellbeing.

“Schools need to be better resourced to... counter the exodus of new teachers...”

“If universities replace a DipEd with a master of teaching, they will effectively cut their intake by half. At this stage it is an unresolved issue,” says Lee. He regards improved support to the teaching profession as a work still in progress.

More support Drop-out rates Thorough preparation is vital to build the confidence of new teachers and address high drop-out rates from the profession in the early years of teaching, says Patrick Lee, chief executive of the NSW Institute of Teachers and a director of AITSL. Gavrielatos adds that induction and mentoring for new teachers must also be improved if more graduates are to have long-term teaching careers.

“Schools need to be better resourced to provide support and counter the exodus of new teachers,” he says.

Lee expects the reaccreditation of courses to be undertaken progressively and anticipates that tertiary institutions will adapt programs in line with the new graduate teaching standards before submitting them for approval.

“In some jurisdictions reaccreditation won’t be very different to what happens now, but in others it will be more elaborate than the current process.”

Another challenge for universities will be managing implementation of a new national requirement for a two-year course of study for graduates of other disciplines who want to teach. The replacement of traditional diploma of education courses with two-year master of teaching programs is already under way in some states, but complicated by a Commonwealth-imposed cap on graduate places.

AITSL is working with four universities on professional development modules to better prepare experienced teachers to supervise student practicums.

“It’s a role in schools that needs to be taken more seriously,” says Lee. “Supervising teachers need much more support, and career structures need to recognise their role, especially in schools that take a lot of student teachers.”

A key element of the new national accreditation standards is more specific requirements for the study of subject content and related pedagogy, he says.

In most states this has been simply left to the universities, although Victoria and NSW have had subject content requirements for teaching courses, and for initial degrees for those entering post-graduate teaching studies.

“The new national requirements recommend that entrants to four-year teacher education programs should be equal to the top 30 per cent of the population in numeracy and literacy.

That’s easy to say, but harder to measure, and a benchmarking exercise is under way to develop a grid that can be used in all states.”

Special units are being developed to raise the literacy and numeracy of student teachers who don’t meet the benchmark on entry. ● www.teacherstandards.aitsl.edu.au www.aitsl.edu.au/initial-teachereducation/initial-teacher-education.html

Promise of help to reach goals Teachers will be entitled to greater support and training under the new teacher performance and development framework, based on an annual performance review.

Announcing the national agreement, the federal Minister for School Education, Peter Garrett, said schools will be required to offer teachers feedback on their performance, based on evidence including classroom observation, parental and student feedback, and student results.

“Teachers will have to set goals for the year and will be helped to reach their goals. Those who are found to be underperforming or who need extra support will be given access to more training and development opportunities,” said Garrett.

AEU president Angelo Gavrielatos says the AEU welcomes more professional development and support for teachers, but is concerned about government silence on how this will be funded.

“We know the best form of PD is when teachers and school leaders are given time and space to work together to evaluate and progressively refine teaching programs in the interests of improving educational outcomes, and that requires resources,” he says.

Carolyn Rance is a freelance writer.

Australian Educator 77 Autumn 2013 23

International

Cuts won’t secure Europe’s future Schools and teachers throughout Europe are in crisis in the wake of massive funding cuts.

by Christine Long

Briefly n Public education in Europe is under threat due to savage austerity measures. n Budget cuts are leading to reduced teacher salaries, larger class sizes, school closures and a narrowing of curricula. n Education International is calling for more investment in education and training to offset the collapse in private sector spending.

A

usterity measures, aimed at preventing financial meltdown, are savaging education systems across Europe. In some countries, teachers’ salaries have been cut by as much as 40 per cent and tens of thousands of teachers have lost their jobs.

But it’s feared this short-term approach to reducing debt will have implications far into the future – reducing equity in and access to education as well as increasing unemployment.

24 Autumn 2013 Australian Educator 77

AEU federal secretary and president of Education International Susan Hopgood told a European Trade Union Committee for Education conference in Budapest last year that austerity policies, focusing on reducing public debts, are only attacking the symptoms of the economic crisis rather than the causes.

“This is the time to invest in people,” she said. “We have made it clear to all governments that investment in people through education and training is the key to sustainable recovery, to a future economy that will be cleaner and fairer.”

Portugal, Spain, Greece and former Eastern Bloc countries have been among those most affected by the slashing of education budgets, teacher salaries and teacher numbers in the name of austerity.

Down and out In Portugal, investment in education will drop to 3.5 per cent of GDP in 2013, resulting in further deterioration in working conditions and undermining of the quality of public education.

Manuela Mendonça, from Portugal’s National Federation of Teachers (FENPROF), says the continuing budget cuts are resulting in reduced school and university budgets; rising dropout rates in higher education; and a narrowing of the school curriculum.

Meanwhile, about 300 primary schools have closed and there’s less support for pupils with special needs; an increase in class sizes and teaching hours; and the end of projects to tackle school dropout rates and failure.

“As a consequence of all these measures, there has been a drastic reduction in the number of teachers,” she says. “Officially, teacher unemployment increased by 225 per cent between 2009 and 2011 and at

the beginning of the school year in September 2012 about 40,000 teachers were unemployed.”

“This rate is likely to keep rising because further cuts are planned,” says Mendonça.

In a two-year period when taxes and the price of essential goods and services have been rising, most Portuguese teachers have experienced a 30 per cent drop in their income as salaries and pensions have been cut.

Portuguese teachers gathered in Lisbon last year to demonstrate against the cuts in teacher numbers, the increases in class sizes and the merging of schools.

The long-term effect of the austerity measures in Portugal, says Mendonça,

Teachers protesting about austerity measures infront of Lisbon’s Parliament last year

“Cuts in education do not only eliminate thousands of jobs, they also jeopardise the quality and equity of education.”

is likely to be more job insecurity, less effective teaching, and social regression.

“Cuts in education do not only eliminate thousands of jobs, they also jeopardise the quality and equity of education. With worsening education, we’ll have a worse economy, worse citizenship and worse democracy. That’s why we cannot accept the inevitability of these austerity policies.”

county of Romania went without salary for at least three months, until the government unfroze the local bank accounts in December 2011 and agreed to pay the outstanding salaries. The bad news is that the backpay will trickle in, in a gradual repayment due to end in 2016.

The government now wants to decrease funding for public education from 4.3 per cent to 2 per cent of GDP.

Big freeze

Strike action

Portugal’s nearest neighbour, Spain, was also the scene of teacher demonstrations last year, when investment in education was cut by 21.9 per cent for 2012-2013.

The greatest effect was on tertiary education, which suffered a 62.5 per cent cut at a time when the university dropout rate in Spain is 30 per cent, compared to the European average of 16 per cent. Almost 37 per cent was cut from primary education and 28 per cent from secondary education.

The cuts translate into teacher job losses, increased class sizes, fewer extracurricular activities and increased tuition fees at the tertiary level.

The story is similar in the former Eastern bloc where Latvia, Romania and Bulgaria are among the countries whose education systems have suffered the most as a result of the debt crisis.

In Bulgaria more than 60 schools have been closed since 2009, with education spending sitting at 3.5 per cent of GDP in 2012.

In Romania, education-related protests were sparked by a government decision in autumn 2011 to freeze national bank accounts to combat suspected irregularities in the administration of local budgets including the education budgets.

Many teachers in the Teleorman

In Greece, the situation continues to worsen. Since 2009, budgets for higher education in Greece have been cut by 23 per cent, which has meant there has been no funding for basic needs such as school heating. The latest round of austerity measures reduced the minimum wage for government workers and will result in 150,000 workers being laid off over the next few years.

The continuing state of Greece as an “austerity experiment” resulted in a strike

by Greek teachers in September last year.

Cuts in the United Kingdom also triggered a number of protests. In September last year, UK teacher unions NUT and NATSUWT voted to take action over the erosion of pay, working conditions and pensions. Members in England and Wales are participating in voluntary work-to-rule actions, including refusal to supervise students during lunchtime and cover for absent colleagues. If an agreement cannot be reached with Education Secretary Michael Gove, the unions will escalate industrial action, moving towards possible strike action during the Spring 2013 term.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies has calculated that public spending on UK education will fall by 14.4 per cent between 2010-11 and 2014-15, with cuts of £83 billion (expected to result in the loss of 490,000 public sector jobs).

Australian Educator 77 Autumn 2013 25

International

Higher education budget cuts will range from £7.1 billion to £4.2 billion by 2014.

Teachers and lecturers have been subjected to a two-year pay freeze from 2011 – just one outcome of austerity measures that have seen their pensions under attack along with the removal of statutory protections to limit classroom observations, job cuts and threats to national terms and conditions arising from the privatisation of schools.

In Ireland, teachers, parents and their children took to the streets of Dublin in protest, after the ministry of education announced “adjustments” in teacher numbers that would target the staffing of primary schools with up to four teachers and fewer than 86 pupils.

The cuts would particularly hit already disadvantaged primary schools in remote rural areas.

Teachers’ salaries, which have remained the same since December 2009 due to a national agreement, 26 Autumn 2013 Australian Educator 77

“The privatisers and marketisers have, with some success, vilified public education over the past 30 years.” were cut by about 14 per cent. No teachers’ allowances have been paid since February 2012.

A new vision What should be the response to the worsening situation in so many European countries?

It’s clear that public investment, particularly in education and training, is needed to offset the collapse in private sector spending and investment, Hopgood told the Budapest conference.

“But to do this, we need to build support for the quality public services we want, not just defend what we have.

“The privatisers and marketisers have, with some success, vilified public education over the past 30 years. We need to turn this around, not just defensively but by promoting a renewed vision of what we mean by public education.”

Education International’s comprehensive policy on education, adopted at its Congress last year, can serve as the touchstone for that work, said Hopgood.

“On a more immediate note, investing in public services also helps to address another and more pressing crisis – the crisis in unemployment and particularly youth unemployment.

“Public spending directly creates decent jobs, but also generates economic spin-offs,” Hopgood said.

Christine Long is a freelance writer.

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Homelessness

No fixed address Statistics show that schools need to be increasingly aware of how to identify and help students who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

by Christine Long

Briefly n Homelessness is increasing, and thousands of children and young people are affected. n Teachers need to be able to recognise the signs that a student has insecure accommodation. n Schools can adopt a range of practices to help homeless students.

P

erhaps a child or young person has started turning up to school in the same clothes they wore on previous days. Perhaps they are having more difficulty concentrating than usual, or their attendance has suddenly dropped off.

These can be signs that a student is homeless or at risk of being homeless, says Brett Paradise, vice-president of the National Youth Coalition for Housing.

28 Autumn 2013 Australian Educator 77

The indicators are not always that easy to read. Some young people can be very good at keeping their situation hidden, says Maree O’Halloran, a former teacher who is director of the National Welfare Rights Network.

“That young person who is homeless may have had to look after other family members or themselves for much of their life and be incredibly capable, so, in some ways, they’re then not as visible in the classroom.”

When O’Halloran moved from her role as president of the NSW Teachers Federation to the community welfare sector, she was stunned to discover the level of homelessness among children and young people.

“When I realised that in all the classes I’d taught over the years there must have been children who were in that situation, it was a shocking revelation,” she says.

Homelessness is on the increase. It rose 8 per cent between 2006 and 2011, from 45 to 49 people in every 10,000, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Homelessness Australia says that in 2009-10 the homeless service system supported 84,100 people aged under 18. Assistance was given to another 23,200 people aged 18 or under who approached a service and didn’t have a parent or guardian.

Spectrum of living Homelessness comes in many guises.

At the extreme end of the spectrum are children and young people living on the streets without any family, or staying in shelters and refuges.

Paradise says that of the 20,000 or so young people who are without secure accommodation on any one night, 87 per cent will be living in

“...insecure accommodation may mean a student has no stable environment where they can complete homework or store learning materials.” someone else’s home rather than living on the streets.

“They may have a night here or there where they are [on the streets], but they will generally find themselves somewhere to be. But they can’t guarantee how long they will be able to stay there, and they don’t have their things or their space or their privacy.”

It’s a situation that often has a significant impact on a child’s education, with many disengaging from the school system in the final two years of high school.

Homelessness Australia reports that children experiencing homelessness spend less time in school than other children.

They may move schools up to five times each year and they are more likely to leave school altogether. Two-thirds of young people who become homeless leave school within 12 months. They are then often on a pathway to long-term disadvantage.

In November, the Australian Youth Affairs Coalition (AYAC) released research into the effect of the federal government’s Earn or Learn policy. It drew on a survey of 159 youth workers and interviews with 27 young people who had fallen through the cracks between education, employment and training.

Bleak prospects More than 17,800 children aged under 12 years were homeless in 2011, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, while almost 11,000 young people aged 12 to 18 years were homeless.

Most of those aged 12 to 18 years were in ‘severely’ crowded dwellings (56%), or in supported accommodation for the homeless (28%). Eight per cent of homeless people aged 12 to 18 years were staying temporarily with other households.

People who had experienced homelessness in the past 10 years reported lower levels of educational attainment, according to the ABS report Life after homelessness March quarter 2012. Of adults who had been homeless, one-third (33%) had not gone beyond Year 10 at school nor obtained a non-school qualification above Certificate II level, compared with 23 per cent of those who had never been homeless. Having been homeless was also associated with a lower likelihood of having obtained a Bachelor degree or higher.

“Two-thirds of young people who become homeless leave school within 12 months.”

Several of those interviewed had experienced homelessness, says AYAC executive director Andrew Cummings.

They wanted to continue their education, but it became a low priority when they were struggling with insecure accommodation. Often, they didn’t feel supported by the mainstream schooling system.

Sometimes the schools and teachers knew the students were facing accommodation issues, but they made no allowance for their circumstances, says Cummings.

“There was just an expectation that they should be doing homework, completing assignments just like all the other kids, because there wasn’t

that flexibility to allow for the unique situation they were in.”

The AYAC report, Beyond Earn or Learn, concluded that these students would be more likely to remain engaged if governments incorporated some of the learning from successful innovative and alternative schooling models into the mainstream schooling system.

For example, the standard five-day school week could be too much for students with housing issues, says Cummings. ‘“If you had them attending school two days a week, it could be okay. It might take them longer to finish their education, but that keeps them in learning and it keeps them more connected to the school and the community. And that’s likely to be better than having them fall out of the system altogether,” he says.

The report recommended that conventional schools offer academic and wellbeing support by up-skilling teachers and providing additional wellbeing support workers for the most disadvantaged students.

Australian Educator 77 Autumn 2013 29

Homelessness

Guidelines for response It is widely acknowledged that school and teacher resources are already stretched, but there are ways that schools can help to minimise the effect of homelessness on a child’s education.

In Victoria and South Australia, guidelines state that, when a child or young person has homelessness issues, a group consisting of school representatives, community sector workers, the child and their parent or carer should be formed as quickly as possible. Wherever possible, the child should remain enrolled at their current school, with recognition that they may need more flexibility with arrival and departure times and deadlines for completing schoolwork.

To be in a position to provide that level of responsiveness, schools could start by building closer relationships with community organisations and raising awareness of homelessness within the school.

Paradise suggests inviting people from community organisations to speak to staff and students.

“Not only does the school get the added benefit of having some extra support, but there is already a 30 Autumn 2013 Australian Educator 77

relationship and a broader understanding of the issues throughout the school community,” he says. “It’s then a very easy access point for a teacher to have a quick word to [the invited speaker] about somebody they’ve had a concern about.”

O’Halloran says one simple, but useful, step can be for schools to make available contact details for youth services and refuges. Victoria’s guidelines suggest making sure students know who they can talk to if they are concerned that a friend is couch surfing or at risk of homelessness, and staff should know who to approach for advice if a student discloses issues with homelessness.

Other suggestions include making homelessness a topic of class discussion and organising an activity to acknowledge National Homeless Persons’ Week.

The Victorian guidelines highlight how Bentleigh Secondary College raised awareness by inviting to the school the (homeless) leader of the Homeless World Cup, a soccer match being held in Melbourne, to meet

three students affected by homelessness and make a presentation to year 10 students. The school went on to raise funds to support a participating team.

On the most practical level, insecure accommodation may mean a student has no stable environment where they can complete homework or store learning materials. Where resources permit, schools can consider extending their library hours and arranging breakfast and homework clubs.

Community organisations can often help with the practical issues. For example, should a child have to change school, they can help with funds for a new uniform and books, or for school excursions at a current school.

“That’s one of the benefits of having the connection with community organisations,” says Paradise. “A lot of them have brokerage funds to help with some of those matters.” ● Christine Long is a freelance writer.

Resources n Beyond Learn or Earn report:

www.ayac.org.au n South Australia’s Department of Education and Children’s Services guidelines: www.decd.sa.gov.au and enter “homelessness teacher guidelines” in to the search engine. n Victoria’s Department of Education and Early Childhood Development guidelines: www.education.vic.gov. au and enter “homelessness teacher guidelines” in to the search engine.

Australian Educator 77 Autumn 2013 31

Mental health

Picking up the pieces Secondary schools can now call on a new support program to help them in their response to the tragedy of a student’s suicide.

by Helen Vines

Briefly n When a student takes their own life, it has serious effects on the school and broader community. n The new Headspace School Support program offers secondary schools suicide prevention and intervention services. n It can be hard for teachers to deal with their students’ widely ranging responses to a suicide.

W

hen a 13-year-old boy took his own life recently, it was said that he did so because he wasn’t given the PlayStation he wanted. His fellow students, teachers and the wider community struggled with the story, which obviously left many questions unanswered.

After a suicide, unresolved grief and stories that are only part of the truth can dismantle even the most stoic person’s emotional resilience. Such an

32 Autumn 2013 Australian Educator 77

event can be a catalyst that precipitates a cluster of further events among the already vulnerable, and it causes teachers, students and parents to be hyper-vigilant. Suicide is all-consuming, with consequences that reverberate throughout a school and the broader community.

Now a program has been introduced to deliver a suicide response protocol for secondary schools through the respected youth mental health organisation Headspace. The federally funded Headspace School Support program has teams located in the states and

territories. They respond to requests from schools to run workshops and presentations, and develop site-specific responses in the event of a suicide.

“We are looking to establish an evidence-based, world-class prevention, early intervention and postvention service,” says Headspace national manager Lisa Kelly.

“We are here to work with schools at short notice to assist them to respond well and effectively to the tragedy of suicide.

“We also work with schools before there has been an incident in order to

“Teachers are well placed to help identify young people who might be at risk of suicide.” prepare them and ensure they have the structures and processes in place to be able to respond should one occur.”

This provides an opportunity for school leaders to think through the processes before they need them, says Kelly. “What happens [when a suicide occurs], who calls whom, and who takes responsibility for what?”

The program has a specific brief that targets students, teachers and the broader school community. Headspace staff identify resources in the local community and enhance the connection between support services and the school community.

The support service, which is free to schools, takes “as much time as is needed” to perform a needs assessment, gain information about what is already in place, where the gaps are and what School Support can offer, says Kelly.

Sense of disbelief Australian Secondary Principals Association president Sheree Vertigan, who has had to deal with the aftermath of several suicides in schools over the years, is an advisor to the Headspace program.

After a student’s suicide, adults in the school community tend to have a lack of comprehension and a sense of disbelief, devastation and powerlessness, she says. “They just don’t know how to respond to it.”

But rather than feeling helpless, “you have to get in there and be hopeful that there are things teachers and principals can do to make a difference, and perhaps change the outcomes for some of these students.”

Teachers are well placed to help identify young people who might be at risk of suicide, says Kelly.

Headspace ambassador Nick Bracks, 25, adds that teachers need to be aware of how common mental health issues are among adolescents and be prepared to respond in a more nuanced way when students are acting up or displaying odd behaviour.

There is a need for greater openness – “questioning motives for disruptive behaviour, getting to the core of the problem” – so help can be provided before they reach such an extreme level of depression that suicide becomes an option.

Talking to students and his own experiences have taught Bracks that young people are often confused about their feelings and behaviour. They might not know why they feel like they do and feel embarrassed and afraid.”

Students react in vastly different ways when a suicide occurs. “Every child in the school is different,” says Vertigan.

“Some will tell the world their issues and some will tell no-one. Others hint, but you have to unravel it.

“This is very challenging to deal with when you are in a busy position with many people around you.”

Vertigan also draws attention to the sensitive issue of students who see an opportunity to participate in a drama in a destructive, attention-seeking manner.

“Their vulnerability is expressed differently from those who have had a previous experience or who are on the edge already.”

Clear principles The immediate aftermath of a suicide is critical, but so is the postvention part of the Headspace program, says Vertigan, because it helps people in their own context and helps to rebuild the community.

During postvention, Headspace will take calls from teachers who want to talk about the situation at their school and how they might have that conversation with their principal or welfare staff. The way the program is delivered can vary, but it operates with clear principles and values, developed after extensive consultation with stakeholders.

It operates “in a flexible way, with a flexible model” to meet the unique needs of different cultures and religious and belief systems, says Kelly.

“We need to be respectful, but not increase the risk for others or send inappropriate messages. We are here to provide effective support throughout the trauma.” ● Helen Vines is a freelance writer.

Resources n www.headspace.org.au n School Support hotline: 1800 688 248

Australian Educator 77 Autumn 2013 33

Technology

Tweeting sweet Twitter’s short tweets are proving long on value for education professionals who want to keep up with issues and events.

Campaign connections

by Cynthia Karena

Briefly n Many teachers and other educators are among Twitter’s more than 100 million active users. n The online social networking system allows them to connect with individuals, conversations and campaigns. n Targeted reading and posting of tweets is also an aid to making contacts and information gathering.

T

witter-obsessed celebrities and politicians who post comments they later regret tend to get all the publicity.

Meanwhile, many teachers and other education professionals are using the medium as a valuable tool for staying informed about issues and trends in education.

“I identify all the people and organisations I want to stay connected to and ‘follow’ them on Twitter,” says Shirley Leitch, professor of communications and deputy vicechancellor at Swinburne University of Technology.

British newspaper The Guardian has described Leitch, whose Twitter calling card is @ShirleyLeitch, as one of Australia’s most influential social media voices in higher education.

“If I write an article, I’ll tweet a link to

34 Autumn 2013 Australian Educator 77

“Twitter can be a form of DIY professional development.”

Dr Narelle Lemon Lecturer, School of Education, RMIT University

it,” she says. “I read a lot and follow higher education news, so, whenever I find anything interesting, I tweet the links.

“Following Twitter conversations is a way to be up to date with the latest news and thinking, and to find out when conferences are happening.”

Since its launch in 2006, Twitter has attracted more than 100 million active users. Its tweets are limited to a maximum of 140 characters, so the posting and reading is short, sharp and to the point.

Twitter handles begin with the @ symbol. For example, @igiveagonski.

The AEU’s ‘I Give a Gonski’ campaign has a strong Twitter presence.

“Twitter helps us inform, organise and make our case to the public for a fundamental change in the way schools are resourced,” says AEU federal president Angelo Gavrielatos.

“There are lots of people on Twitter who are passionate about public schools and want to see them properly resourced. It’s a great way of connecting with them.”

Rachel Power, who tweets for the TAFE4ALL campaign (@TAFE4ALL, #tafe4all, #savetafe), says Twitter is a good way for members to contribute directly as part of a public conversation about the issues.

“Twitter is a way for the public to talk to us, and we respond directly to any queries. We can reach beyond our traditional membership base.”

The campaign encouraged people to tweet their support during a recent rally in Melbourne. The hash tag #TAFE was a ‘trending’ topic – among those mentioned most at the time – during the rally.

“It’s a great way to give a local event national impact,” says Power. NSW TAFE organiser Rob Long (@rlong62) tweets to #TAFE to publicise information about TAFE issues and events.

The recent NSW Community Day of Action hash tag #cdoa was trending in Australia, he says. “If we are trending on Twitter, then people will jump into the conversation, there’ll be an increase in re-tweets and an increase in followers.

You can reach more people with Twitter than you can through email. And, with Twitter, people can participate in the conversation immediately.”

Here are some suggestions for educators and commentators to follow and hashtags that cover discussions on education and teaching: Australia @igiveagonski @TAFE4ALL @effectsofNAPLAN @AEUVictoria @aeusa @rlong62 @susiemandley @TAFECampaign @InvestinTAFE @rgesthuizen @ShirleyLeitch @rellypops @msciffer @gaolteacher @catspyjamasnz @coolcatteacher @JewelTopsfield @JohnRoss49 @StuchberyOz @tloughland #gonski #NAPLAN #TAFE #tafe4all #savetafe #vicpln #ozscied #acceln

Once you’re following someone, you’ll see their tweets.

Twitter conversations are identified with the # symbol (known as a hash tag).

It can be used to search for tweets about a common topic, ranging from the broad (#education) to the specific (#naplan).

Google ‘twitter #naplan’ and you will see a Twitter stream – a collection of tweets in chronological order.

Participation in Twitter is free, but you need to register as a user at twitter.com.

“Whenever there is an event [with a hash tag], there is usually a Twitter stream where people in the audience can tweet their thoughts, ideas and comments,” says Leitch. “Afterwards, there is also a big discussion linking people and ideas.

“A lot of people who can’t make it to a conference can also be part of the conversation through Twitter.”

Around the water cooler Roland Gesthuizen (@rgesthuizen), eLearning coordinator at Keysborough Secondary College in Melbourne, likens using the hash tag when posting a tweet to having a conversation around the office water cooler or coffee machine.

“Include the hash tag and you are sharing your thoughts with the community,” he says. “You don’t have to tweet. You can just read. But sharing information leads to developing contacts.”

In this way, using Twitter also extends to professional networking. For example, United States educator Dr Gary Stager (@garystager) found Gesthuizen’s tweets on #naplan and contacted him.

Gesthuizen says he spends about 30 minutes a day on Twitter, mostly in five-minute visits. “Before a meeting I might put my head in Twitter and see what people are talking about. You don’t have to read every post. You can just skim through them. Because tweets are short, it’s not like blogging where some people wax lyrical.”

Dr Narelle Lemon (@rellypops), an education lecturer at RMIT University in Melbourne, started using Twitter by following other academics, looking at their tweets and which hash tags they use.

“You end up clicking on people’s blogs to read new ideas, or links elsewhere.”

Twitter can be a form of DIY professional development, she says.

“You drive it. You look at the hash tags,

International @ncte @pasi_sahlberg @DianeRavitch @jkellow @ckervina @garystager @edismylife @diannekrause @willrich45 @SBEducation @educause @bookboon @UNILEAKS_ORG @SciReports @edutopia #edchat #educhat #teaching #teachers #education #artsed #ntchat #cuin3111 #mlearning #technology #kinderchat #bullying

people and links you’re interested in, rather than going to PD and have someone give you information, some of which you may not use.”

Her Bachelor of Education students use Twitter professionally to ask others for opinions. “Twitter gives you another avenue to ask questions. Some people may re-tweet your question and the discussion keeps growing. You can access people and ideas you wouldn’t normally have access to.” ● Cynthia Karena is a freelance writer.

Resources n Getting started on Twitter: http:// tinyurl.com/3wv768v n Educational hash tags: http://tinyurl. com/cdqzb76 n What are hash tags?: http://tinyurl. com/38u98z2 n Using Twitter to develop a PLN: http://tinyurl.com/bpm5odp n Twitter for pre-service teachers: http://tinyurl.com/cvrkura

Australian Educator 77 Autumn 2013 35

Books

On an island in the river As a teacher, Noel Beddoe was haunted by what he found out about an Aboriginal massacre, which became the basis for his powerful new novel.

by Steve Packer

Australian Educator (ISSN: 0728-8387) is published for the Australian Education Union

by Hardie Grant Media.

The magazine is circulated to members of the AEU nationally.

F

ormer public school teacher and principal Noel Beddoe first heard the true story behind his new novel, The Yalda Crossing, 42 years ago when he was sent to the southern NSW town of Narrandera as a relief teacher.

He says the local Wiradjuri people weren’t tolerated in Narrandera and had to live at the nearby Aboriginal settlement of Dixonville. Their children went to school in Narrandera, but they were always behind in their learning and dropped out before the senior years.

Beddoe formed a group that went to Dixonville to teach pre-school reading skills so the children could start their education at less of a disadvantage.

It was during one of these visits that an elder, Tommy Lyon, told him about what had happened to the Wiradjuri in the 1830s and 40s when the first cattle farming settlers arrived in the district.

“When they came, we tried not to care. That’s what the old people told me,” said Lyon. “But they came and they came until all the kangaroo and emu were driven away and the grass was destroyed.

“So we went to war, and we won the war. But the devil brought them back

AEU federal president Angelo Gavrielatos AEU deputy federal president Mary Bluett AEU federal secretary Susan Hopgood AEU deputy federal secretary Darcel Russell

36 Autumn 2013 Australian Educator 77

AEU and subscription enquiries to Ground Floor, 120 Clarendon Street, Southbank, Victoria 3006.

Tel: (03) 9693 1800 Fax: (03) 9693 1805 Email: aeu@aeufederal.org.au Web: www.aeufederal.org.au

and they drove us onto an island in the Riverina and killed everybody.”

An estimated 70-80 people were shot dead that day – babies, children and women as well as men – on an island in the Murrumbidgee River which is called Murdering Island to this day.

“I thought that was a pretty interesting story, so I pursued it,” says Beddoe. “It wasn’t written into history, but it was oral history, which is just as good.”

Dark secret In The Yalda Crossing, which has been nominated for a Miles Franklin Award and a NSW Premier’s Literary Award, Beddoe tells the story from the point of view of a narrator, Young James, son of the patriarchal settler who leads the massacre.

The author includes much period detail in the 302-page book and uses the literary time-switching device of having the narrator revisit a diary he wrote as a youth.

A much older Young James, who has become a respectable family man and businessman in Sydney, foreshadows the slaughter with alternating senses of dread and guilt. He’s a man who,

Editor Darcel Russell Publisher Fiona Hardie Managing editor Sarah Notton Commissioning editor Tracey Evans

Design Vaughan Mossop Advertising manager Kerri Spillane Tel: (03) 8520 6444 Fax: (03) 8520 6422 Email: kerrispillane @hardiegrant.com.au

through allegiances and circumstances largely beyond his control, has been forced to live with a dark secret.

“The settlers who came to Australia in the 19th century were remarkably determined human beings and under extraordinary duress. Even getting to Australia was no fun,” says Beddoe.

“And there they were with the chance to win wealth, security, social position and control of a vast area – if only they could harden their hearts to Indigenous people they couldn’t possibly understand, knowing that they could never be called to account for what they did to them.

“I wanted readers to wonder ‘If I’d been there, what would I have done?’

“Clearly this matter was seen from one point of view. But what did it mean to the Wiradjuri who had been there for 40,000 years?”

Wealth and injustices

“…we have failed to acknowledge some appalling injustices and how bloodthirsty we have been.”

Editorial office Hardie Grant Media, Ground Level, Building 1 658 Church St, Richmond 3121 Tel: (03) 8520 6444 Fax: (03) 8520 6422 Email: educator@hardiegrant.com.au

Beddoe, who was principal of Warrawong High School, in Port Kembla, NSW, from 1992 until his retirement in 2003, continued to be involved in Aboriginal education throughout his career.

He has five teen novels to his name, and although he wrote The Yalda Crossing as his first adult novel, he

Subscriptions Telephone enquiries (03) 9693 1800 Within Australia: $17.60 (includes GST) for four issues Overseas: $30.00 (includes postage) Printer Offset Alpine 42 Boorea Street Lidcombe NSW 2141

hopes to see it on senior secondary school reading lists.

He says Australians are still “groping towards an identity” which can no longer be based on Anglo-Celt mythologies such as Don Bradman and the Man from Snowy River.

“I believe that, until we confront how the land was settled and why it was settled, we have no chance of understanding who we are,” he says.

“We need to acknowledge that we were founded on materialism and creating wealth, which we became very good at.

Those skills are significant. But along the way we have failed to acknowledge some appalling injustices and how bloodthirsty we have been.”

To find their identity, Australians need to understand more about the experience of the nation’s minorities and underprivileged – “the mix of who we really are”.

“If we could understand that better,” says Beddoe, “I believe our dealings with the world would be on a more admirable basis.”

Steve Packer is a freelance writer.

The Yalda Crossing is published by UQP and retails for $32.95.

Make cheques payable to the Australian Education Union and post to: Tom Freeman Australian Education Union Federal Office Ground Floor, 120 Clarendon Street Southbank, Victoria 3006, Australia

Audited circulation: 120,697 Copyright rests with the writers, the AEU and Hardie Grant Media. No part of this pub­lication may be reproduced without the prior permission of the copyright holders. The opinions expressed in the magazine are not necessarily the official policy of the AEU.

Australian Educator 77 Autumn 2013 37

Casebook

Practical magic Lively arts and sports programs are closely linked to academic achievement at Epping North Public School.

C

by Cyndi Tebbel

reative arts and sports programs are often the first casualty of budget cuts. But not at Epping North Public School where they are as fundamental as literacy, maths and science in developing well-rounded students.

That makes for a tight schedule at the Sydney school. It starts buzzing at 7.30am as children arrive for band practice and dance classes. Tuition is also offered in drama, singing, chess, public speaking and a sports program including gymnastics, athletics and games.

Principal Betty Asmanis-Ploeg (pictured) believes these co-curricular subjects enhance a student’s academic abilities when they can “apply that knowledge in real-life situations”.

It’s the philosophy that led her to teaching. During her own education, starting at kindergarten, a series of “wonderful teachers” encouraged her to be a self-motivated learner and take on tasks independently.

“I took great pleasure in that and wanted to do what they were doing,” says Asmanis-Ploeg, who has been a primary school teacher for 24 years, all but five of them in the public sector.

She says the most valuable lesson she has learnt is the importance of getting to know students, their parents and their motivations. Part of that is sharing 38 Autumn 2013 Australian Educator 77

“The children are encouraged and given opportunities to think outside the classroom...”

common goals – what she refers to as “goal-setting as pedagogy”.

It starts at the beginning of each term, involving the teachers and students, with input from the school’s enthusiastic parent body.

“Our parents are on the same page as the school in terms of what our goals are and they support us in our endeavours to get more hands-on resources to our students,” she says.

The children are encouraged and given opportunities to think outside the classroom so their goals can be focused not only on academic concepts, but also on peer relationships and developing life skills such as patience.

Teachers’ goals are guided by data indicating which areas of the curriculum need improvement.

The school is in the middle of a two-year program targeting aspects of numeracy and writing. “In numeracy, only 16 out of 405 students are

performing below average,” says Asmanis-Ploeg. “We’ve also seen tremendous results in writing across the school. For example, last year’s Year 6 students, achieved above-region results in NAPLAN this year in their new schools,” she says.

Buddies and peers All students are encouraged to develop problem-solving skills while building relationships. A buddy system and peer-support program contribute to collaborative learning. Children at kindergarten are paired with older students.

The peer-support program starts in terms two and three, and involves boys and girls of various ages who get together each week to mentor younger children. It also gives the older children the opportunity to be leaders.

“The older children are invited to the kindy birthday parties, and when the [younger ones] see their mentors outside, they run up to one another.

It’s beautiful to see senior boys scoop up a little one or give them a high five when they meet in the playground.”

When a group of Year 6 students organised a mini fête recently, it was a good example of how the learning in skills and relationships is put into practice.

“They had to come up with a business plan with projected costs and profit margins, and feasibility, sustainability and environmental impact studies,” says Asmanis-Ploeg.

“They collaborated with people they wouldn’t normally choose to work with and they made new friends. Because the exercise was real, seeing it all come together at the end was a big high for them.” l Cyndi Tebbel is a freelance writer.

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