Faculty of Education - Research Publications
Permanent URI for this collection
Search Results
1 - 10 of 12
-
Item
-
Item
-
ItemStudents' engagement in first-year university(ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2008)
-
ItemFurther reflections(ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2008)
-
ItemThe role of the OECD in international comparative studies of achievement(Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2008-11)The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) underpins its extensive policy work with strong databases of comparable statistics and indicators with which it compares countries. In 2000, it extended its education database with its first collection of data on the performances of 15‐year‐olds in reading, mathematics and science through its Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which continues on a three‐yearly cycle. In developing PISA, crucial decisions were made about the target student population, sampling requirements, tests development frameworks, translation procedures and pilot testing regimes prior to full data collection. The international comparisons of student performance offer much more than rankings of countries. Analyses of students’ social backgrounds and their performances on the PISA measures, for example, have shown that some countries achieve both high quality and high equity together. While the analyses can point only to possible explanations of how they have managed this, they do at least show what is possible and encourage more detailed examination of strategies for achieving such a quality/equity mix.
-
ItemStudying and Working: A national study of student finances and student engagement(ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD, 2008)
-
Item
-
ItemReconceptualizing the self-managing school(SAGE Publications, 2008-04-01)Contrary to the claims of its critics, the introduction of self-managing schools under the ERA and its counterpart in other countries did not lead to the privatization of public education. Self-managing schools have been one manifestation of a general trend to decentralization in public education in many countries since the late 1960s. The practice was introduced for a range of reasons but much of the heat from often contentious debates about its efficacy was dissipated in the early years of the 21st century as most governments and system authorities settled on the enhancement of learning as its primary purpose. A realistic assessment of impact suggests that the self-management of schools is an appropriate strategy given that each school contains a unique mix of needs, aptitudes and aspirations of students. A system-wide framework for self-management is important. Leaders in self-managing schools will need to be adept at drawing on all of the resources of the community to meet expectations, and these include intellectual capital, social capital, spiritual capital (broadly defined) as well as financial capital. The concept of self-management will continue to change as schools will continue to change.
-
ItemRevisiting feminism and Australian education:Who speaks? What questions? What contexts? What impact?(Informa UK Limited, 2008-12-01)
-
ItemHealth Care Decision-Making A Focus Group Study Involving Health Professionals and the General Public(EMERALD GROUP PUBLISHING LTD, 2008)Faced with an ageing population and newspaper warnings that escalating costs are leading to a health crisis, debate has intensified in Australia and elsewhere on the allocation of limited health resources. But whose values should inform decision‐making in the health area, and should the influence of different groups vary with the level of decision‐making? These questions were put to 54 members of the public and health professionals in eight focus groups. Unlike previous studies, participants were not asked if particular groups should be involved in decisions but rather through deliberation and discussion nominated their own potential decision‐makers. This delivered a clear message that participants saw a legitimate role for a broad range of stakeholders in priority‐setting decisions. The results suggest that qualitative methods of investigation have the potential to improve the legitimacy and accountability of policy decisions by contributing to a better understanding of the values of the public and health professionals.