Research Institute for Professional Practice, Learning & Education
THE RIPPLE EFFECT
ISSUE 01/2010
F RO M T H E DIREC TOR: Prof Tom Lowrie
CONTENTS
From the Director
1
Opinion Piece
1
Feature Story
Prof Sue Dockett
3
New Research Grants
4
Feature Story
Dr Jane Wilkinson
5
Upcoming Conferences
6
Research Updates
Visitors
7
RIPPLE Scholars
Jane Greenlees
Tamara Cummins
Diane Tasker
Postdoctoral Fellow
Sandy Wong 8
10
Publications
11
Awards and Achievements
12
9
The past six months have been tumultuous for education in Australia. The launch of the My
Schools website, proposed strike action over supervision of the NAPLAN tests and an inquiry
into the billion dollar school building project have provoked discussion throughout the
community about many facets of education. In this environment it is opportune for RIPPLE
to be involved in discussion and debate about what education in Australia should look like,
how it should be run and what are the best outcomes for our children. In his graduation
address Prof Stephen Kemmis told graduates, “Teachers must find times and ways to take
their eyes off the details of the national curriculum, the official tests and assessments, the
NAPLAN results, the My School data and the ways of teaching the experts recommend. The
educational job is always concerned with the lives of students - not just their grades - and
with the fates we share in our communities.” This is a timely reflection and reflects RIPPLE ‘s
commitment to excellence in professional development and practice. Indeed, many of the
professions we engage with and share research partnerships with are experiencing demanding
political and societal challenges. RIPPLE has the opportunity to significantly contribute to
these important questions.
O P I N I O N P IECE: A/Prof Ros Brennan Kemmis
L i f t i n g t h e bar on VET workforce education
VET researchers have always been keenly interested in the qualifications
that are available to VET practitioners, since the quality of the learning
in VET, and the success of the students are both intrinsically tied to the
skills and abilities of the teachers and trainers. The prodigious body of
research literature on the correlation between teacher qualifications and
quality outcomes for students seems to have been given a cursory glance
by government. However it is quite clear that vocational qualifications
supported by a broad study of education and its traditions and practices
equip new teachers to recognise that their role is not only to transfer skills
as enumerated in Training Packages, but also to take some responsibility,
through their teaching, for the broader social, political and economic well
being of their students and their communities.
The terminology surrounding the ‘work’ of people teaching in the VET
sector is murky. This is often explained by the variety of contexts in which
they work. The tendency is then to discard this as a useful and productive
topic of policy debate, as if complexity were a justifiable reason for not
attending to compelling questions. This complexity arises because, unlike
teachers in schools, the VET practitioner can be involved in a multiplicity of
contexts: as a trainer in industry, as a VET in schools teacher, as a person
working in a private provider or inside the large public providers across
the country. They may be working full time in this role or more likely in a
causal capacity. Terms such as VET ‘professional, teacher, trainer, supervisor and facilitator’ are used imprecisely and interchangeably. Smith, Brennan Kemmis, Grace and Payne (2009, Service Skills Australia) have suggested that a more accurate and acknowledging way of thinking about the
diversity of the work and the particular work contexts of VET practitioners
Featured in this issue:
RIPPLE scholars Jane
Greenlees, Di Tasker and
Tamara Cummings
RIPPLe researchers Prof
Sue Dockett and Dr Jane
Wilkinson
Three RIPPLE researchers
give graduation address
at ceremonies held across
CSU in April and May
Scandanavian visitors
collaborate with RIPPLE
researchers
PAG E 1
OPIN I O N P I EC E : A / P RO F RO S BR E N N AN KEMMIS
would be to refer to them as VET “Educators” since all of them are
involved in some variety of teaching and all have a commitment to
the learning of their students. This definition is much more inclusive
of the variety of work undertaken in the sector and does justice to
the qualities that training packages remain silent about.
The diversity of the current workforce and the VET contexts in
which they are located are often advanced as reasons for avoiding the question of VET teacher qualifications. This complexity has
produced a passionate policy belief that the minimum specification
of the Australian Quality Training Framework (AQTF) for a teacher
to hold, a Certificate 1V in Training and Assessment, is the ‘best that
can be done under the circumstances’. Whilst this provides a framework for the foundational capacities involved in teaching, many in
industry and beyond believe that this is not sufficient.
The inadequacy of the training package model as the way of
ensuring a productive and efficient workforce and its preparation
is reflected in the interest in key competencies, generic skills or
employability skills. These are the supra set of competencies that
need to be mixed together with the industry specific competencies
to create productive workers, a skilled workforce and a growing
economy. These competencies include the ability to solve problems,
good communication skills, technological competence and functional levels of literacy and numeracy amongst others. While policy
interest refocuses on these competencies it is also interesting that
the results of a study reported at the Australian Vocational Education and Training Research Association (AVETRA) in 2006 (Peddle,
2006) indicated that industry is also not of one heart and mind
about the skills that are needed. Peddle showed that an industry
acceptable tradesperson is one who is as ethical as they are skilled.
He listed virtues such as commonsense and a sense of humour
which do not appear in any training package specifications and yet
are precisely those attributes that have been built up by tradition
and practice. They are the qualities that teachers value highly, the
qualities they are committed to, and the ones they wish to pass
on to their students. This was reinforced by a recent study in TAFE
NSW where teachers reiterated the fact that some of the skills they
rate most highly have to do
with empathy, communication, organisational ability,
flexibility and professional
currency.
The ‘bar’ therefore needs
to be lifted, and lifted
considerably. One wonders
why it takes four years
to adequately prepare a
teacher for Primary School
when it is sanctioned that a
VET educator only requires
the nominal hours mandated by the Certificate 1V.
This thinking also needs
to address questions about the progression and developmental
continuum of teacher skills and qualifications that compounds this
lack of adequate teacher preparation. Questions such as career progression, high-level teaching and training skills and the multiplicity
of demands on the energies of VET educators need to be addressed
coherently with a view to both the present conditions and the future possibilities. In a time of pathways and articulation it is surprising that more attention has not been directed to positively encouraging the VET educator to look beyond the minimum qualification
with assertive industry or institutional support. If VET educators are
to be required to work effectively and creatively with training packages then a much more expansive qualification is needed where
curriculum design and implementation occupy centre stage. The
design of training packages is predicated on the assumption that
whereas industry will define the required outcomes, it is the professional skill of the teachers that will allow training programs to be
delivered effectively. Similarly, given the increasing diversity of the
student population and the teaching skills need to cater for diversity
an understanding of the issues and practicalities of diversity need
far more attention than is provided in the mandated qualifications.
Enterprise and innovation are needed to meet the training needs
of those in new and emerging industries and those working in industries characterised by rapid technological change. Research has
shown that what is needed in these industries is team responses to
these training needs. An important member of such training teams
is a professional VET educator with the educational knowledge, skill,
flexibility and responsiveness to be able to resolve issues and design
effective and efficient training in response to need.
The workshop held at the AVETRA conference this year on the
topic of VET teacher qualifications consolidated previous recommendations within the context. Participants in the workshop drawn
from universities, TAFE, The National Centre for Vocational Education Research, industry, and private providers agreed on a set of
principles for the recognition of VET educator qualifications that
are predicated on the establishment of national standards for the
profession. Skills Australia and the Australian Education Union have
both suggested that a review with this theme as the central focus is
certainly timely. The intention is not to impose yet another regime
of regulation, but rather to take on this complex area of teacher
qualifications whilst acknowledging the variety of contexts and
pedagogies that are demanded in the sector.
The research both here and overseas indicates that there are a
number of necessary elements in VET teacher qualifications and
they must focus on the diversity of the student cohorts that are
present in any teaching and training context, as well as include a
study of ethics. They must also focus on: establishing rapport with
learners; the teaching and learning process; anticipating emerging
needs in the sector and interpreting these with a focus on student
learning; and acknowledging the duality, and sometimes tension,
between industry needs and pedagogical imperatives. Given these
principles, which will help to guarantee positive student outcomes
in VET, it is clear that the bar must be raised or even perhaps done
away with completely, and a new way of thinking developed.
PAG E 2
RIPPL E R ES EA RCH E R P RO F I L E
FOCU S O N : P RO F ES S O R S U E D O C K E T T
A child’s first day at
school is a day of mixed
feelings for every
parent. Along with the
excitement, tears and
recollections of their
babe-in-arms are hopes
that the child will fit in
well, but not so much
that they get lost in
the crowd. Professor
Sue Dockett has
devoted much of her
career to researching
the expectations,
experiences and
perceptions of those involved in a child’s transition to school.
After notching up more than two decades of experience in early
childhood education and research Sue is well positioned to
comment on how to give children their best start on an education
that for many will span more than 15 years.
Sue joined CSU at Albury-Wodonga in early 2007, moving with
her partner Professor Bob Perry and their son from Sydney. Both
are active members of RIPPLE’s Educational Transitions and
Change (ETC) research group and conduct many research projects
together around common interests in early childhood education.
Sue says the move was prompted by a desire for opportunities to
bring new perspectives to her research and a different working
environment. Originally from Armidale, Sue completed a Bachelor
of Education and Master of Education both with Honours, and a
Phd at Sydney University. Her Phd thesis examined connections
between children’s pretend play and thinking, and was recognised
as the Australian Association for Research in Education outstanding
thesis of the year in 1995. Sue worked in child care services and
primary schools for several years before starting a career at the
University of Western Sydney (UWS) which lasted 19 years.
Highly competitive Australian Research Council grants are an
indication of both academic success and society’s broader interest
in a subject and Sue is currently a member of research teams
involved in three projects. The most recent, which commenced in
2009, Staying on at school: strategies for increasing high school
completion rates in low retention regions of NSW, is a collaboration
with researchers from UWS and the NSW Department of Education
and Training. The second project, Early childhood sustained
home visiting: outcomes at 4 years and the transition to school,
which commenced in 2008, is a collaboration between several
universities and led by the University of NSW. Sue and Bob are
working closely with Cathy Kaplun, who is completing a PhD in
association with this project, to examine children’s experiences of
starting school. A third project Facilitating children’s transition to
school within families with complex support needs – a collaboration
with UWS, Mission Australia and NSW Department of Community
Services – is winding up, with the final report to be submitted
mid year. The report concludes that most families are particularly
keen for their children to succeed at school, but that some families
are not sure of the best ways to support their children, or how to
access the range of services and resources that will assist in this.
Within this research, “we spent a lot of time working with a wide
range of people and organisations to build up a sense of what’s
happening for families and what we as researchers, educators and
other professionals can do to provide better support for them as
they support their children,” said Sue. “When looking at what’s
happening for children as they start school, it is also important to
understand what’s happening for families.”
To add to Sue’s already full schedule, in April she was successful
in a tender to prepare an issues paper for the Closing the
Gap Clearinghouse, which operates under the auspices of the
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. The issues paper will be
titled School readiness: What does it mean for Indigenous children,
families, schools and communities?
Whilst describing her research and personal experiences overseas
and reflecting on the Australian context, Sue’s passion for
educating young children is unmistakable. “The current thinking
around transition for children into formal schooling is now quite
different from when we started researching in the late 1990s.
Practices have changed quite drastically and there is now a much
stronger focus on how adults support children as they make the
transition,” she said. Transition to school is now recognised as a
process that involves much more than having the children arrive
at school on the first day. “Things have changed to incorporate
Sue is one of the organisers of the forthcoming Starting School: Research, Policy and Practice Conference being held in
October at Albury-Wodonga which will bring together key international, national and local researchers who have a strong
focus in this area. She says the conference is a chance to focus on the important issues and to promote thinking about
transitions theoretically as well as practically. “Researchers from Scandinavia, the UK, US, New Zealand and Australia will be
involved in discussions about what transition means in theory, as well as considering how their research has influenced the
practice of transitions. One of the key elements of the conference will be a focus on sharing research in ways that promote its
relevance for policymakers, teachers, parents and children,” she says.
PAG E 3
P RO F ES S O R S U E D OCKET T (CONT ’D)
NEW RESEARCH GRANTS
a lot of positive elements and all involved are now considering
ways in which all children can make a positive start to school. Our
research backs the notion that when children make a positive
start to school, they are much more likely to feel engaged in
what’s happening and more likely to experience success and to
persist at school for longer,” she said.
NCVER GRANT TO ROS BRENNAN KEMMIS
Ros Brennan Kemmis is working with researchers from the
University of Ballarat, Deakin University and consultants E &
T Thinking on a new project, Understanding the psychological
contract in apprenticeships and traineeships to improve retention.
Funded by the National Centre for Vocational Education Research
(NCVER) the project will develop understandings of how the
psychological contract operates in the employment relationship
between apprentices/trainees and their employers. This will
illuminate the respective expectations better, identify reasons for
differences among groups, and provide information that may help
to draw the expectations of both parties more closely together
and thereby contribute to increased retention. See more at
http://www.ncver.edu.au/research/projects/10438.html
Internationally there is much variation in the way different
countries approach the transition, with emphasis placed on
different aspects. Sue cites the US at present where much of the
research focus is around measurement and assessment. “Much
of their transition research focuses on how to determine whether
children are ready for school and how to measure readiness. This
is not the same in Europe and Australia and I’m not keen to see it
go that way,” she said. Other research focuses on the social and
emotional elements of transition, such as making sure children
start school surrounded by supportive relationships with parents,
peers and teachers. “If children feel comfortable going to school,
if they feel valued and if they feel like they belong, then learning
will happen. This view is opposed to saying you must have
reached a certain level of learning before you can engage in this
thing called school,” she says. “Culture is an important element in
educational transitions, but one of the fascinating things is that
regardless of the context, most people are focused on similar
things. Most people, whether teachers or parents, want children
to be happy when they’re at school and they want them to feel
like it’s a good place to be,” she said.
SCHOOL READINESS
Prof Sue Dockett has been awarded a grant from the Australian
Institute of Health and Welfare to prepare an issues paper on
school readiness, including the health and learning aspects of
early childhood development. The issues paper is titled ‘School
readiness: What does it mean for Indigenous children, families,
schools and communities?’.
NCVER GRANT TO CATHY DOWN
Smoothing the learning pathways from TAFE to University
and reducing the ‘culture shock’ in moving between the two
sectors are the aims of a new national research project being
led by Cathy Down. A $71,000 grant from the National Centre
for Education for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) was
awarded to Cathy in March. The new project, Transition from
TAFE to University: What are the pedagogical issues?, includes
academics from four Australian universities.
“There is much evidence that teaching styles in the VET and
university sectors are vastly different and this affects how
students learn and ultimately whether they finish their course,”
said Dr Down, who teaches in the School of Education at CSU
in Wagga Wagga. “The overall goal of the research is to identify
the impediments to learning, come up with strategies to reduce
these barriers and improve the graduate rate of students at both
TAFE and university.” The research comes as partnerships are
developing between Vocational Education and Training (VET)
providers and Universities in a bid to promote further education
in fields such as accounting, social work and teaching.
“There’s been a lot of work done on the transition between VET
and university but it’s been largely structural and concerned with
matching subjects and academic requirements. What hasn’t been
looked at is how the style of teaching makes a big difference to
whether students feel isolated, uncomfortable or out of their
depth,” she said.
PAG E 4
RIPP L E R ES EA RC H E R P RO F I L E
FOCU S O N : D R JA N E W I L K I N S O N
Dr Jane Wilkinson’s
passion to make a
difference ignites
when she talks
about her hope
that her work
on educational
leadership at
schools and
universities can
make a real
difference to the
lives of students
and the broader
society. Jane,
who was this year
promoted to senior
lecturer in CSU’s School of Education and is a member of RIPPLE
at Wagga Wagga is obviously driven by a desire to see quality
leadership deliver tangible outcomes such as quality learning
and social experiences for all.
Prior to her move to Wagga Wagga, Jane was the Deputy
Principal of a regional high school in Horsham, western Victoria.
Having started out as an English, French and English as a Second
Language (ESOL) teacher she had 12 years experience teaching
in both city and country schools across the state as well as
working as an English curriculum consultant for secondary
and primary schools in rural Victoria. Growing up in a multicultural household where her mother spoke English as a second
language gave Jane a bi-cultural understanding of what it’s like
to be an immigrant. “I have memories of writing shopping lists in
English for my mother and so it’s second nature to me to want
to help those who sometimes struggle with English,” she said.
The move to Wagga Wagga in 1994 was prompted by a desire to
move into academia and do a Phd, and Jane saw CSU as holding
“interesting possibilities”. She worked casually in research
assistant roles at the former Centre for Rural Social Research
whilst raising her daughter and completing the PhD. Her thesis
focused on women in leadership positions in universities across
Australia with specific emphasis on women with diverse ethnic
backgrounds. Jane was very interested in how the women
were represented in the media and how this matched with
how they and their colleagues actually viewed themselves. “I
interviewed fantastic women from indigenous, migrant Chinese,
Italian, Greek and anglo-saxon backgrounds who held leadership
positions, asking them how they saw themselves as leaders,
how they were viewed by others and by the media. There was
great disparity in the stereotypical way they were presented
in the media as opposed to what was happening to them in
real life. The ‘wog women’ as they called themselves had the
most difficulty as many people assumed they were a cleaner
or clerk when in fact they held positions of leadership such as
membership of senior university management,” she said.
In 2002 Jane started working in CSU’s School of Education,
spending one year as an associate lecturer in vocational
education and training, followed by three years as a professional
experience coordinator, working with students going on
practicums and pre-service teachers. During this time she
lectured and tutored in secondary education. Jane, who
gained a permanent tenured position as a lecturer in 2004,
has specialised in educational leadership and is now course
coordinator for CSU’s well regarded Master of Education.
“I’ve written a number of the subjects for the course and am
currently undertaking a review which has been helped by
my background in teaching and research, so I have a good
grounding across a broad range of areas. A jack of all trades so
to speak, and hopefully a master of a few!” she quips.
Last year Jane spent a month overseas as part of a collaborative
research project which was then a pilot study, but has now gone
on to be funded by an Australia Research Council Discovery
grant. Led by Professor Stephen Kemmis it’s a three year study
into the interaction between highly effective leadership and
professional development on teachers’ classroom practices
and in turn, students’ academic and social practices. As part
of this larger study, Jane spent a month in Norway and Sweden
working with international colleagues to commence a series of
parallel case studies in primary schools and one pre-school in
Scandinavia to run simultaneously with those in Australia. “The
aim is to capture international data which gives a richer picture
of how to bring about improvements in educational practice
in schools through improved understanding of leadership and
professional development and the conditions necessary for their
development,” she explains.
Her enthusiasm for the project which also involves Ian Hardy
and Christine Edwards-Grove, is obvious as it fuels her passion
for making a difference through good educational leadership.
The team will select six ‘lighthouse’ schools in the Riverina
which are performing at an exemplary level, above what would
be expected for their student demographic profile. “One of
the reasons I’m very committed is because it is actually about
looking at schools which are in many ways highly effective,
in that they seem to be making a real difference not just
academically but socially, because these are schools where kids
are learning to be full global citizens in a rich way,” she said. “I
believe this study could lead to impacts on policy and practice
that can be applied internationally.”
Ticking along in the background for the past two years has
been Jane’s work on a book with colleague Tanya Fitzgerald
PAG E 5
DR JA N E W I L K I N S O N (CO N T ’ D )
from LaTrobe University. In March they submitted a manuscript
to publishers PostPressed titled ‘Travelling towards a mirage?
Gender, leadership and higher education’. Based on a study
of Australian and New Zealand (Fitzgerald hails from NZ)
universities, the book centres on the current state of play in
regard to women’s leadership. “The dominant discourse now
is that equity for women has ‘been done’ but we arguing that
if that is so, then why aren’t these outcomes obvious in the
statistics? There has been plenty of equity initiatives for women
in both countries, so why is it after all these years, that progress
has not been as obvious as we would expect?” Jane comments
that their study threw up interesting data about significant
differences between different types of universities. “The Group
of 8, as they are known, are not faring as well compared to the
remainder of the universities in terms of women in leadership
positions. Overall, there has been a growth of women in
leadership roles in management, but research leadership
positions overall tend to remain dominated by men. In the
newer institutions like CSU for example, there seems to be more
space for women to make their mark,” she said.
Another project which Jane has thrown her considerable energy
into is an intensive case study of a local school which has had
a gradual but major change in the socio-demographic makeup of the student body. “The Riverina school has gone from
being predominantly mono-cultural to teaching an increased
proportion of children with refugee and migrant backgrounds
who have English as a second language (ESOL),” Jane said. “This
means students with different cultures, religions and customs
have been thrown together and it can be a challenge to make
this integration process flow smoothly.” Jane worked with a
colleague in the Faculty of Education, Kiprono Langat, who
has a Kenyan background, to look at the proactive approach
taken by the school leadership. This has included working
with the students, the student body and the teachers to put in
place programs and practices that will make the new students
feel included and part of the student fabric despite their very
different backgrounds.
“We’re in a position to make some comments about things that
are going very well and offer some suggestions for the future.”
It’s no wonder that such a motivated and experienced advocate
for leadership as Jane has gained the schools support and trust.
UPCOMING CONFERENCES
The Starting School: Research, Practice and Policy Conference will be held from 12-15 October 2010 at CSU’s Thurgoona Campus. Organised by RIPPLE members Prof Bob and Prof
Sue Dockett, it’s an invitation only conference that will bring
together around 150 professionals who work with children in
transition to school to share their latest work in the area.
The Embodied Profession(al): The Body in Professional
Practice, Learning and Education Conference is also a RIPPLE
sponsored event to be held in Melbourne from 2 - 4 December 2010 following the Australian Association for Research
in Education (AARE) Conference. Keynote speakers include
Professor Margaret Somerville (Monash University), Professor
Anne Kinsella (University of Western Ontario), and Professor
John Shotter (University of New Hampshire). This is a conference for all professional practice fields, and especially for
health, education, and professional studies. It will bring together scholars and practitioners with a view to sharing their
deliberations and dilemmas concerning professional practice,
learning and education in and for a complex global world. For
information about both conferences visit the RIPPLE website
and click on Events. http://www.csu.edu.au/research/ripple/
The Australian and New Zealand History of Education Society
(ANZHES) is holding their 2010 conference at Wagga Wagga
on 6-9 December 2010. RIPPLE member Peter Rushbrook
is convening the conference which is themed ‘Centre and
Periphery in Histories of Education’. Visit the website for more
information. http://www.anzhes.com/
The pair applied for and got a grant from the Faculty’s Research
Development Fund. Through interviews with teachers; focus
groups with students from ESOL, refugee and ‘born and bred in
Australia’ backgrounds; the leadership team; and ethnic teacher
aides they have tried to understand whether there have been
significant shifts in classroom and leadership practices as a
result of this change in the demographic. “How you teach, what
you do, and the kinds of activities that go on in the school are
obviously really important because leadership and a leader’s
response to change sends a really important message both to
the students and the teachers,” she said. Jane and Kiprono have
finished their interviews and are now finalising their analysis and
expect to present a report to the school leadership team soon.
PAG E 6
RIPPLE R ES EA RC H U P DAT ES
INDIG E N O U S Q U E E N S L A N D CO M M U N I TIES
Professor Bob Perry has completed the third of four visits to
remote northern Queensland communities as part of his evaluation of the Queensland government’s new curriculum framework
Foundations for Success which has been specifically designed for
Pre-Prep in 35 Indigenous communities. “Foundations for Success
is built on five learning areas: being proud and strong; being a
communicator; being an active participant; being healthy and safe;
and being a learner. These parallel the outcomes of the Early Years
Learning Framework that Jennifer Sumsion and her team developed” said Bob. “The Pre-Preps I have been privileged to visit are
extraordinary educational environments. Most of the children are
bilingual and some trilingual.” Among the educators, there may be
three or more languages being used. New, well equipped facilities
are available in most of the communities. The curriculum framework helps educators to engage children in two-way learning for
the present as well as guiding them in preparing the children for
school. Bob commented on the physical beauty of the communities, with some located on beautiful rivers in Cape York and others
on coral islands. “People are warm and welcoming and, in each
community, there is a rapport which has been vital in ensuring
return invitations,” said Bob. A fourth and final visit is scheduled
for August and Bob will hand in his final report to the Queensland
Department of Education and Training at the end of November.
RIPPLE is again hosting
academics from across the
world who are attracted to CSU
and the opportunity to build on
their research and forge linkages
with RIPPLE members. Professor
Petri Salo (pictured) visited
Australia for four weeks at the
beginning of the year and was
fortunate to strike a particularly
mild Wagga February, although
he still commented on how
warm it was compared to
Finland. Petri’s area of interest is
adult education and on this visit he furthered his collaboration with
Stephen Kemmis, Jane Wilkinson, Ian Hardy and Christine EdwardGroves on the ARC educational leadership project.
ARC FE L LOWS H I P: S P EA K I N G M Y L A N G UAGES
Prof Sharynne McLeod has created a blog ‘Speaking my languages’
to record her experiences while working on her four year ARC
Future Fellowship research. Sharynne’s fellowship will allow her to
conduct research into communication impairment in multilingual
children, which is currently both undiagnosed and over‐diagnosed
due to a lack of culturally‐sensitive measurement tools. Check it
out at www.speakingmylanguages.blogspot.com.
VISITORS
Petri who is Professor of Adult Education at Åbo Akademi
University in Vaasa, a city similar in size to Wagga, also collaborated
with the group on the special issue of the Pedagogy, Culture and
Society journal. It was Petri’s second visit to CSU and he found to
fit in a trip to Melbourne and a walk up Kosciusko with another
visiting scholar Dr Hannu Heikkinen.
Also from Finland and visiting during February, Hannu is Senior
Researcher and Lecturer at the University of Jyväskylä. Whilst at
CSU, Hannu spent time discussing the ‘Verme’ pilot project he
directs, a program which develops collaborative mentoring for new
teachers throughout Finland. He also met with NSW Department
of Education and Training staff responsible for mentoring in the
Riverina region. Professor Benjamin Zufiaurre from the University
of Navarra in Spain is visiting CSU until August.
MATHE M AT I C S I N A D I G I TA L WO R L D
Some interesting preliminary findings are emerging from Prof Tom
Lowrie’s Australian Research Council project on Digital Mathematics with Rural, Remote and Indigenous students. Tom is working
with Prof Robyn Jorgensen and schools in rural New South Wales
and remote areas of the Northern Territory to examine the disparity in mathematics outcomes for disadvantaged students. Initial
surveys conducted in rural and urban schools have found that
students in late primary school play computers the majority of the
time, exceeding their use of Wii and DS games. Plans are underway
to visit a distance education school later in the year to find out
how teachers, students, parents and supervisors use technology to
access their lessons. The three year project is examining whether
investment in digital resources and technologies has the potential
to enhance mathematics outcomes.
PAG E 7
RIPPL E S C H O L A RS
FOCU S O N : JA N E G R E E N L E ES
Even Jane Greenlees
admits it’s an odd
sequence of events
that led her on the
path to a Phd. Whilst
on maternity leave
and awaiting a transfer
between schools
with the Department
of Education, Jane
worked casually at
Harvey Norman.
RIPPLE Director
Tom Lowrie, who
lectured Jane during
her undergraduate days was shopping in the store one day and
noticed her. “Tom asked me what I was doing and after I explained
the situation, he asked if I’d be interested in working at RIPPLE as a
Research Assistant. I jumped at the chance!” Jane explains.
After a couple of months of part time work Jane applied for a
RIPPLE PhD scholarship but was uncertain whether she could cope
with the demands of a Phd as well as two children and a third on
the way. “Tom was very flexible and we worked out a timetable
that meant I did my first round of data collection while I was
pregnant then started writing when I returned from maternity
leave. The rest has fallen into place neatly,” she said.
The Phd is centred around the mumeracy component of the
National Assessment Plan for Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN)
which was introduced by the federal government in 2008 as
a standardised national test for year 3 and 5 students. “I’m
examining the changing nature of assessment and what the results
actually show that the children know and I’m also examining
different components of the assessment tasks and what teachers
need to cover in their classroom for the kids to complete the test
successfully,” she explains.
Jane has a background in education, having completed a Bachelor
of Primary Education with Honours at CSU in 2001. Her thesis
looked at the emotional impact of change on teachers’ at a single
sex school that had recently changed to co-educational teaching.
After graduation she took a placement at a public school in Sydney
through the targeted graduation scheme and taught for three
years. When her husband was offered a job in Wagga they decided
to make the move, which led her back to CSU and RIPPLE.
The first data Jane collected was from interviews with Year Three
students at four Riverina schools who sat the inaugural NAPLAN
test in 2008. She spoke to the children after the test and gave
them the opportunity to explain how they solved the problems.
Jane is focusing on only the numeracy aspect of the test and
says the testing is no longer only about mathematical content.
“It’s having to deal with graphics, and the context within which
the maths question is placed. All of those things impact on how
successful a child is at answering the question,” she said.
After speaking to the children she revisited the test and altered
the questions “where they were stumped on something that was
not related to content”. This was done to ensure that the children
are tested on their actual mathematical ability rather than their
ability to decode and answer a question. “In the interviews I found
the children might focus on something insignificant – so by taking
that out it shows they have the knowledge,” she explains. Jane
gives an example of a question asking students to decode a graph
accompanied by a question, ‘Are there fewer cows than sheep?’
“Instead of saying ‘less’ which has the same meaning, the exam
designers used ‘fewer’ and it became obvious during the interview
process that many children do not understand this word. In the
second round of testing I changed the word to ‘less’ and there was
a 95 per cent improvement,” she said.
“If you looked only at the NAPLAN results you’d say students in
Australia are struggling with graphs, but that’s not true at all. They
are struggling with the word ‘fewer’,” Jane said. She believes it is
frustrating from a teacher’s perspective because they know the
children have the knowledge to answer the questions correctly.
“There is such huge accountability now on teachers who want to
make sure that the students get it right. I think teachers should
be held accountable by the parents and students in the classroom
and the school, but not necessarily by the people who don’t know
the school environment.” Whilst reluctant to comment about the
federal governments My Schools website, Jane says it’s frustrating
that the data can’t, and doesn’t, tell the whole story about a
school and its’ teachers and students. In May Jane went through
the same interview process with the same students who are now
in Year 5 and sat the NAPLAN test. She now has two data sets for
the same students and says this provides validity and allows for
comparison.
In the first half of the year Jane worked on journal articles, using
the data collected in 2008, which are the basis for her Phd. It’s
a non-traditional style of Phd which requires students to submit
eight published journal articles and these are then woven together
to form the final thesis. Amy Macdonald, another RIPPLE student
in the final months of her Phd, is also submitting her thesis using
this process. Jane Greenlees has so far submitted an article to
the Australian Primary Mathematics Classroom journal and a
conference paper for the Mathematics Education Research Group
of Australia conference to be held later this year.
Jane, who is supervised by Professor Tom Lowrie and Dr Tracey
Smith hopes to finish her Phd by March 2012 and is confident
that her research can have impacts on teaching practices. “I think
we need to make teachers more aware of the different aspects of
the test items and how the skills to complete the tests need to be
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RIPPL E S C H O L A RS
CONT ’D: JANE GREENLEES
FOCUS ON: DIANE TASKER
explicity taught in the classroom, rather than something implied
and assumed,” she said.
For the majority of the
population their only
experience with physiotherapy
is the occasional visit to a
clinic to receive treatment
for a nagging backache or
aggravated sporting injury. But
for those in the community
with major health difficulties
and long-term disabilities, a
physiotherapist (physio) may
be a regular visitor to their
home, often developing a bond
with a client that lasts decades.
How clients develop an innate sense of ‘’well being” and how
the relationship between physio, client and their family care
team grows and deepens to assist that process was a question
that fascinated Diane Tasker, now a Phd student with a RIPPLE
scholarship.
“If they can include more context in their day-to-day teaching
of mathematics then children become more familiar with the
scenarios and more familiar with the test. I think that teachers
are under so much pressure that they want answers as to how
to best prepare students - not by teaching to the test - but
making them aware of what a test item is composed of, such
of graphics.” Another area that Jane hopes to influence is test
design. “There was no need to use the word ‘fewer’ in the
questions I described. It’s not about testing if a child knows the
word ‘fewer’ – it’s testing if they could look at the mathematical
information presented and chose the correct answer. So I hope
in future that test design will reflect what we want to actually
test.”
PhD S C H O L A RS FO R 2 0 1 0
Tamara Cumming, selected as the RIPPLE Research Scholar
for 2010 has commenced her PhD under the supervision of
Prof Jennifer Sumsion and Dr Sandie Wong from the School
of Teacher Education in Bathurst. In response to the current
interest and emphasis upon the concept of ‘belonging’ within
Early Childhood, Tamara (pictured, below) will explore how early
childhood professionals construct, experience and practice
‘belonging’ within their workplace, and within their profession.
“The study will help to generate new understandings about
how early childhood practitioners manage and integrate their
sense of self in their work, as well as their diverse range of
pedagogical, interpersonal and reflective skills,” she said.
The study is also likely to have relevance for policy, as, it is
possible that the extent to which early childhood practitioners
experience ‘belonging’ may have implications for their personal
and professional fulfilment and hence, for staff retention rates.
Tamara who is
based in Sydney
has a background
in Sociology, Early
Childhood and
embedded research
within organisations.
“I’m really excited
about the PhD and
the opportunity to
work with the team
of early childhood
professionals at CSU
who are considered
leaders in the
profession” she said.
For many years Diane (pictured, above) had been interested
in pursuing postgraduate study but hadn’t found a niche that
suited her philosophy or areas of interest. She completed a
degree in Physiotherapy at the University of Queensland years
earlier but was keen to do postgraduate study. It wasn’t until she
attended a conference celebrating 100 years of physiotherapy
that she found a connection with Professor Joy Higgs, now a
strategic research professor with RIPPLE and Director of CSU’s
Education for Practice Institute (EFPI). “The work of the Phd
students I heard absolutely resonated with me so I went and
found Joy and asked if I could become involved,” she said. After
co-authoring a book chapter for a book edited by Professor
Higgs, it was suggested Diane enrol in a Phd. “I enrolled as a
private student for 18 months with Dr Stephen Loftus as my
principal supervisor. I received the RIPPLE scholarship in 2009
which will assist me until I finish next year,” she said. Living in
Wentworth Falls made it possible for Diane to travel to Sydney
and participate in workshops conducted at EFPI in North
Parramatta, along with other PhD students.
A physiotherapist with more than 30 years experience, Diane
has continued to do some physiotherapy work throughout her
Phd. She operates a mobile private physiotherapy practice in
chronic and complex care in the Blue Mountains. “I wanted to
keep in contact with my practice so I didn’t lose that grounding
because that’s where the motivation came from, and I wanted
to keep that really fresh while I was doing the research,” she
said. “I also had some ethical responsibilities to my clients”.
Over the years Diane had admired the strength and resilience
of people who manage a family member’s health care needs.
She calls them the ‘family care team’. “Brain injuries, spinal cord
injuries, developmental disabilities; I guess it’s the hard end of
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RIPPL E S C H O L A RS / P O ST D O C TO R A L F ELLOWS
CONT ’D: DIANE TASKER
health care for people, and these problems don’t go away, they
require regular attention and management,” she said. “So I’m
researching the relationships that develop between physios and
their family care teams.”
“I’d been aware that it wasn’t just what we do as physio’s that
makes a difference, it’s often how we do it. The relationship that
you form with people seems to be incredibly important,” she
said. “There is a process that happens whereby people work
their way through to a space which can only be described as
achieving some sense of ‘well being’ - where people are happy
and healthy, looking outwards from themselves, managing the
health care problems that they have as best they can and in a
way that satisfies them to some degree.”
Diane explains that she has seen this happen numerous times
and it has always made her examine the contribution made by
the therapist and how they might contribute further to that
experience. She has finished her data collection of home based
interviews of clients, physio’s, families and carers of people
with various degrees of cognitive and verbal competence. The
participants range widely from a person with severe cognitive
and physical disability who is not able to speak, to someone
who uses an augmentative communication device to write
their thoughts, to people who speak competently. Experienced
private practitioners who’ve been working in the community
for five years or more were interviewed and Diane ran focus
groups with therapists and a community reference group. “The
families and carers were interviewed individually but they had
the choice to have composite interviews if the person is unable
to speak,” she said.
A physiotherapy conference held in New Zealand in May
provided an opportunity for Diane to present her preliminary
findings. “The emotional connection within the physio and
client relationship is really under appreciated. Participants
use sophisticated ways to make meaning of the way in which
person-centred care within community settings is enacted and
evolves as people allow their therapists to learn about them
within their home and community. In achieving a high level
of trust and comfort, the therapist enters a situation where
they have a real window into how people live and work and
manage their health care problems - this can open up increased
possibilities for all parties. Part of this process involves trust
but the therapists may also be able to gather really relevant,
contextualised information and feedback which offers
opportunities to create change and sustain care.”
because they’ve had long term contact with experienced
therapists and their own experiences to draw on. In the course
of looking after, for example, a child for over 30 years with
repetitive surgery and multiple health care problems, they
develop wisdom and knowledge which could be of value to the
education of physiotherapists,” she said.
Being in someone’s home provides teaching opportunities
for both undergraduate and postgraduate physiotherapists
“because patients and their health care teams are great
teachers”. When you are a guest in a home Diane says “it puts
you on your mettle like nothing else”. She says nothing can
be taken for granted in the client’s home setting and it’s an
opportunity to make the most of what can be done, within the
client-therapist relationship. It’s a useful training ground for
students, giving them the opportunity to use as Diane describes
it, their head, heart and hands. “Paying attention to the
developing interpersonal relationship, doesn’t just develop your
professional practice, it can develop your life and the life of your
clients,” she says.
POST DOC TORAL FELLOWS
Sandie Wong commenced a RIPPLE post doctoral fellowship
in April and is based at the School of Teacher Education at
Bathurst. Sandie has joined Frances Press and Jennifer Sumsion
as a chief investigator on an Integrated Services research project
funded by the Professional Support Coordinators Alliance. She
says “I’m very excited about the position and looking forward to
meeting and working with other RIPPLE researchers and team
members”. Sandie, who was previously with SDN Children’s
Services is also writing a series of articles based on her
professional practice at that organisation.
Diane says physiotherapists are valuable allied health
professionals because they have a high level of training and
expertise and their skills are transferable. During the interviews
she received feedback from families wanting to contribute
towards the training of young physios. “They see it as important
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RIPPL E P U B L I C AT I O N S
Peer reviewed special journal editions
Wilkinson, J., Rawolle, S., & Hardy, I. (Guest Editors, 2010), ‘Policy
and leadership as practice: Foregrounding practice in educational
research’ Special Edition, Critical Studies in Education 51 (1), http://
www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~db=all~content=g918291066.
Brennan Kemmis, R., Edwards-Groves, C & Smith, T (Guest editors,
2010), ‘Pedagogy, education and praxis’ Special Edition, Pedagogy,
Culture and Society, 18 (1) http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/
title~db=all~content=g919762879.
Peer-reviewed papers
Hemmings, B. & Kay, R. (forthcoming) Prior achievement, effort, and
attitude as predictors of current achievement. Australian Educational
Researcher
Hemmings, B. & Kay, R. (forthcoming) Research self-efficacy, publication output, and early career development. International Journal of
Educational Management
Hemmings, B., Grootenboer, P. & Kay, R. (forthcoming) Predicting
mathematics achievement: The influence of prior achievement and
attitudes. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education
Hemmings, B. & Kay, R. (2010) University lecturer publication output: Qualifications, time, and confidence count. Journal of Higher
Education Policy and Management, 32(2)185-197.
Harrison, L. J. & McLeod, S. (2010). Risk and protective factors
associated with speech and language impairment in a nationally
representative sample of 4- to 5-year-old children. Journal of Speech,
Language, and Hearing Research, 53(2), 508-529.
Barr, J. & McLeod, S. (2010). They never see how hard it is to be me:
Siblings’ observations of strangers, peers and family. International
Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 12(2), 162-171.
Yavaş, M. & McLeod, S. (2010). Acquisition of /s/ clusters in English
speaking children with phonological disorders. Clinical Linguistics
and Phonetics, 24(3), 169-176.
McLeod, S., Press, F., & Phelan, C. (2010). The (in)visibility of children with communication impairment in Australian health, education, and disability legislation and policies. Asia Pacific Journal of
Speech, Language, and Hearing, 13(1), 67-75.
McCormack , J., McLeod, S., Harrison, L. J., McAllister, L., & Holliday,
E. L. (2010). A different view of talking: How children with speech
impairment picture their speech. ACQuiring Knowledge in Speech,
Language, and Hearing, 12(1), 10-15.
Books
Higgs, J., Cherry, N., Macklin, R. & Ajjawi, R. (2010) Researching
practice: A discourse on qualitative methodologies, Sense Publishers.
Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Williams, A. L., McLeod, S. & McCauley, R. J. (Eds.) (2010). Interventions for speech sound disorders in children. Baltimore, MA: Paul
H. Brookes Publishing. http://www.brookespublishing.com/store/
books/williams-70182/index.htm
Book chapters
Brennan Kemmis, R., & Ahern, S. (2010). Communicating with parents, community groups and service agencies. In Ewing, R., Lowrie,
T. & Higgs, J. (Eds.) Teaching and Communicating: Rethinking Professional Experiences. South Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
Brennan Kemmis, R., & Green, A. (2010). Communicating with senior students. In Ewing, R., Lowrie, T. & Higgs, J. (Eds.) Teaching and
Communicating: Rethinking Professional Experiences. South Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
McLeod, S. (2010). Laying the
foundations for multilingual acquisition: An international overview of
speech acquisition. In M. CruzFerreira (Ed). Multilingual norms
(pp. 53-71). Frankfurt: Peter Lang
Publishing.
Pictured left: Prof Sharynne
McLeod with Prof Lynn Williams
at the launch of Sharynne’s new
book in New Orleans
McLeod, S. & Searl, J. (2010). Adaptation to an electropalatograph
palate: Acoustic, impressionistic, and perceptual data. In T. W. Powell
& M. J. Ball (Eds). Clinical linguistics: Critical concepts in linguistics
(Vol. 2, pp. 195-221). Oxford: Routledge.
Baker, E. & McLeod, S. (2010). Evidence-based management of phonological impairment in children. In T. W. Powell & M. J. Ball (Eds).
Clinical linguistics: Critical concepts in linguistics (Vol. 4, pp. 446469). Oxford: Routledge.
Conference papers/proceedings
Brennan Kemmis, R. & Ahern, S. (2010). Workforce development for
the hair and beauty industry. 13th Annual Conference of the Australian VET Research Association (AVETRA), VET Research: Leading and
Responding in Turbulent Times. QLD. April 2010.
Aldum, I. & McLeod, S. (2010, June). Afrikaans: Phonology, acquisition and assessment. International Clinical Phonetics and Linguistics
Association, Oslo, Norway.
McLeod, S., McCormack, J., McAllister, L., & Harrison, L. J. (2010,
June). Severity and nature of speech impairment in a community
sample of 4- to 5-year-old children. International Clinical Phonetics
and Linguistics Association, Oslo, Norway.
Baker, E. & McLeod, S. (2010, May). Evidence-based intervention for
children with speech sound disorders. Speech Pathology Australia
National Conference, Melbourne.
McLeod, S., McAllister, L., Harrison, L. J., & McCormack, J. (2010,
May). The Sound Effects Study: Speech impairment in early childhood ascertained by direct assessment, speech pathologist, teacher,
parent and child report. Speech Pathology Australia National Conference, Melbourne.
McLeod, S. & Searl, J. (2010, April). Adaptation to the electropalatograph (EPG) palate: Consonant acoustics, listener perceptions, and
speaker rating. Human Communication Science Network Workshop,
Advances in Speech Production: Tools, Techniques and Recent Research, Milperra, Sydney.
Reports
Harrison, LJ., Ungerer, KA., Smith, GJ., Zubrick, SR., Wise, S with
Press, F., Waniganayake, M and The LSAC Research Consortium,
‘Child care and early education in Australia: The longitudinal study of
Australian children’. Australian Government Department of Families,
Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (Social Policy
Research Paper Number 40) http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/about/publicationsarticles/research/socialpolicy/Pages/sprp40.aspx
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RIPPLE AC H IE V E M E N TS A N D AWA R D S
GRADUATIONS
Three RIPPLE members presented Occasional Addresses at CSU
graduation ceremonies held in April and May this year. Professor
Stephen Kemmis gave the Address at the Faculty of Education
ceremony at Wagga on April 14. The address, entitled Your Task
is Education, was based upon the notion of teacher praxis. In
Albury, Professor Sue Dockett gave the Address on April 23rd.
While in Bathurst Professor Sharynne McLeod presented the Address on 6 May entitled Every child is important.
Pictured, left: Prof
Sue Dockett, graduating student Helen
Hoysted and Professor Bob Perry at the
Albury Faculty of
Education ceremony.
Pictured, right:
Prof Stephen
Kemmis and CSU
Chancellor Laurie
Willett at the Wagga
Wagga Graduation
Ceremony.
ALTC RESEARCH AWARDS
Prof Joy Higgs AM has received one of nine Australian Learning
and Teaching Council (ALTC) Teaching Fellowships to examine
what makes good workplace education and to encourage the
widespread use of good practice in universities nationally. The
project is titled Practice-Based Education (PBE): Enhancing
Practice and Pedagogy. “The aim is to better prepare students
for the complex workplaces of today,” said Prof Higgs, a RIPPLE
Strategic Professor and Director of CSU’s Education for Practice
Institute.
EARLY CHILDHOOD REPORT
In January, the Minister for Early Childhood Education, Child Care
and Youth, Kate Ellis released Child care and early education
in Australia, a 200-page monograph authored by A/Prof Linda
Harrison and colleagues, including Frances Press, which presents the first results from the Longitudinal Study of Australian
children, the largest study of Australian child care. The paper is
available on line: http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/about/publicationsarticles/research/socialpolicy/Documents/prp40/default.htm
NEW QUT LINKAGE
A new, ongoing collaboration in early years (birth to age 8)
research has been formalised by an Agreement for Academic Cooperation research between CSU and Queensland University of
Technology. The collaborative research program collaborations,
led at the CSU end by the Investigating Quality in Early Childhood
Education and Care research group, will focus particularly on
early years pedagogy and policy.
CONFERENCES AND PRESENTATIONS
A/Prof Ninetta Santoro presented two papers at the American
Education Research Association Conference entitled “It’s Just
Too Hard to Stay: A Teacher’s Experiences of Moving Away and
Moving Up” and “Generating Emotional Capital: The Influence of
Australian Indigenous Mothers on Their Children’s Decisions to
Teach” in Denver, USA in May. She also delivered a CSU Public
Lecture on 12 May at Bathurst “The Making of Teachers: Teacher
Education for the Twenty-first Century”.
RIPPLE Research Fellow, Dr Sally Denshire participated in the
2nd International DoctoRALnet live forum held in April at UTS in
Sydney which was themed ‘connecting’. Discussants for Sally’s
presentation on using auto-ethnography to re-inscribe moments
of practice were Samantha Sin, a PhD candidate at MacQuarie
and Prof Antony Paré from Writing Studies at McGill.
In April, Frances Press chaired an invitational forum on International Research and Practice in Integrated Child and Family
Services held in Melbourne. The forum was addressed by Iram
Siraj Blatchford, Professor of Early Childhood Education at the
University of London and attended by over 100 Victorian practitioners and policy makers.
A/Prof Linda Harrison and Prof Ben Bradley attended the World
Association of Infant Mental Health conference held in Germany in June to present three papers in a symposium on “infant
transitions in child care” with colleagues from the University of
Vienna. RIPPLE adjunct Joy Goodfellow is co-author of one of
the papers.
CONTAC T INFORMATION
ph +61 2 6933 2966
fax +61 2 6933 2962
email [email protected]
www.csu.edu.au/research/ripple
Charles Sturt University
Boorooma Street Locked Bag 588 WAGGA WAGGA NSW 2678
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