ISSUE 2
2012
The RIPPLE Effect
From the Director
the RIPPLE-PEP International
Doctoral School (p. 7).
Two of our members have recently
retired from full-time academia—Prof
Stephen Kemmis and A/Prof Ros
Brennan Kemmis. Both researchers
have enjoyed outstanding careers
and have made major contributions
to their fields—and beyond.
Welcome to the second newsletter
for 2012 from the Research Institute
for Professional Practice, Learning
and Education.
As the year draws to a close, we are
excited to announce the recent
success our members have had in
securing Australian Research
Council (ARC) funding. Four
Discovery-funded projects will
commence in 2013, with RIPPLE
researchers leading three of these.
Applying for a nationally-competitive
ARC grant requires a large
commitment of time and meticulous
planning. The process is subject to
rigorous peer review and only a
small number are successful.
Congratulations to all involved!
Also in this issue you can read about
the valuable opportunities for
education researchers of drawing on
secondary data sets such as the
Longitudinal Study of Australian
Children (p. 2); feature profiles of
Prof Lisa Given (p. 3) and Dr Brian
Hemmings (p. 9); a day and year in
the life of Future Fellow Prof
Sharynne McLeod (p. 8); along with
updates on our latest research.
We also hope you enjoy the pieces
written for us by Dr Amy MacDonald
on her invitation to Science Meets
Parliament (p. 5); our (sadly)
outgoing Research Fellow, Dr Tuija
Turunen (p. 6); and two overseas
students’ experiences of attending
Stephen has been appointed as a
Research Professor within RIPPLE
for two days per week, and will also
be an Adjunct Professor. He will
continue to engage with the PEP
group and PEP International, as well
as investigating and progressing
funding opportunities for RIPPLE.
Ros will also rejoin RIPPLE as an
Adjunct Associate Professor, and
she will work from Research House
for two days a week. Alongside this
role, Ros will be working with the
Wiradjuri Language and Cultural
Heritage Project through the Centre
for Indigenous Studies.
In mid-July, RIPPLE’s highly
respected Business Manager, Janet
Wilks, moved to a research
leadership position at the Australian
Catholic University, where she will
be based in Brisbane. We would like
to acknowledge the intelligent and
unwavering support that Janet has
provided, and we wish her well.
We are pleased to welcome Lisa
McLean, who has accepted a
secondment to the role of Business
Manager. Lisa is well known to many
RIPPLE members, who will know
how fortunate we are to have her
knowledge, capable decision making
and wit in our midst.
Have a safe and happy Christmas
with your families. We look forward
to sharing our passion for research
into professional practice with you
again in 2013.
Professor Tom Lowrie
Vale Professor Alison Lee
Sadly, Prof Alison Lee, from the
University of Technology Sydney,
passed away in September this year
following an illness.
Director of the Centre for Research
in Learning and Change at UTS,
Alison was an Adjunct Professor with
RIPPLE, and worked closely with a
number of RIPPLE members
focusing on practice theory and
philosophy research.
Her latest co-edited book, Practice,
learning and change, was recently
launched in Sydney. The book is
part of a distinctive publication
program that Alison was involved in
which includes a number of books
edited by RIPPLE members.
Alison was well known and loved
amongst the doctoral and broader
education community, and will be
sadly missed. Our thoughts are with
her family, friends, and colleagues.
CONTENTS
From the Director
1
Opinion Piece
2
Researcher Profile
4
Research Updates
4
Visiting Scholar
5
Research Fellow
6
Events
6
Future Fellowship
8
Researcher Profile
9
Photo Gallery
10
Achievements
11
Publications
12
Contact RIPPLE
12
OPINION PIECE
Using secondary data in
early childhood research
Professor Linda J. Harrison
Excellence in Research in Early Years
Education Collaborative Research
Network
In recent months, CSU and many
other Australian universities have
invited their research staff to share
existing data sets as part of working
within the aims and guidelines of the
Australian National Data Service
(ANDS) (n.d). The sharing of primary
data, which ANDS encourages and
which allows other researchers to
reuse data to address different
research questions, bring different
theoretical interpretations, or apply
different methods of data analysis, is
a relatively new phenomenon for
many education researchers.
However, it complements a long
history in social science research of
using and analysing secondary data.
Smith, in her 2008 review of seven
years of publications in eight
mainstream sociology, education
and social work journals, identified
202 articles that were based on
some form of secondary data
analysis. While these represented
less than 10% of the 2,016 published
papers, the proportion was highest
for the three education journals (80
out of 627 articles, or 12.8%). In
most of these papers, education
researchers had based their work on
data garnered from published school
testing scores (including PISA
results), census data, or longitudinal
cohort studies of children and youth.
Data sets available for secondary
analysis are usually collected by
governments or research institutions,
and many are designed explicitly for
the purpose of “provide(ing)
researchers with readily available
resources to examine characteristics
of populations or particular
hypotheses” (Vartanian, 2011, p. 3).
The Australian Government not only
increasingly expects and
encourages grant recipients to
consider depositing their research
data into trusted repositories or ‘data
commons’ (ANDS, n.d.), it also funds
population-based surveys and largescale research studies that produce
publicly available data sets.
The RIPPLE Effect
Access to large research or
administrative data sets can provide
many opportunities that would not
otherwise be available to education
researchers. For example, nationally
representative data sets will include
participants in numbers that are
proportionate to their appearance in
the population, making it possible for
researchers to investigate
phenomena or characteristics that
are relatively rare and difficult to
access in a recruited sample. Large
scale government funded data sets
are also able to include a wider
breadth of information than is
typically collected in small scale
studies. Secondary data enables
researchers to test a larger number
of explanatory variables in their
investigations. Furthermore, in some
secondary data sets governmentmanaged administrative records,
such as school test results, are
linked to individual survey data,
which give researchers the
opportunity to examine some of the
predictors, outcomes and correlates
of students’ performance.
Over the past year, early childhood
researchers in the Excellence in
Research in Early Years Education
Collaborative Research Network
(CRN) (RIPPLE, 2011) have
embraced many of these
opportunities through secondary
data analysis of Growing Up in
Australia: The Longitudinal Study of
Australian Children (LSAC). LSAC is
a nationally representative study of
5,000 babies and 5,000 four-yearolds funded by the Department of
Families, Housing, Community
Services, and Indigenous Affairs
(FaHCSIA) (Sanson et al., 2002).
LSAC data have been released
every two years from 2005 to 2011
and are available to researchers by
application to FaHCSIA
(www.aifs.org.au/growingup).
Researchers from CSU, Queensland
University of Technology and
Monash University working within
CRN Program 1—Children’s
development, learning and wellbeing in the early years—are
investigating research questions
about prior-to-school and school-age
children, early childhood and care
services, and family-school
partnerships.
The nationally representative LSAC
sample provides opportunities for
studying minority groups within the
Australian population. Verdon and
McLeod (2012) have identified and
tracked patterns of language loss
and acquisition in the 15% of fouryear-old children who speak
languages other than English.
McCormack (submitted) has studied
educators’ identification of children
with communication impairment and
the provision of speech and
language therapy services in early
childhood education and care
settings. Dillon-Wallace, McDonagh
and Fordham (submitted) have
studied the experiences of the small
group of LSAC mothers whose
children have long-term special
health care needs.
The multi-disciplinary design of
LSAC has resulted in a broad data
set that allows researchers to
examine a variety of influences on
children’s learning and development.
Carmichael, MacDonald, and
McFarland-Piazza (submitted) have
investigated the effects of child,
family/community, school, and
home-school interactions on
children’s numeracy achievement.
Harrison, Spilt, and Walker (2012)
have studied the role of studentteacher relationship trajectories on
achievement. The outcome variable
in both these studies was children’s
Year 3 NAPLAN scores, which are
accessible through data linkage to
the LSAC sample.
These articles and conference
papers illustrate some of the
research questions being addressed
by the CRN team through secondary
data analysis of LSAC. For many of
the CRN researchers, this work is a
foray into quantitative
methodologies, and for all of them it
is the first time they have engaged
with such a large and complex data
set. Nevertheless, despite the many
challenges, it is clear that their
analyses are enhancing research
capacity in early childhood education
and building skills in what Smith
(2008, p. 174) has termed a
“relatively underused technique in
the methodological toolbox of the
social science researcher.”
References
Australian National Data Service (ANDS)
(n.d.). Better data: Better research.
Retrieved from
http://services.ands.org.au/document
ation/andsbrochure.pdf
Issue 2, 2012
2
Harrison, L. J., Spilt, J., & Walker, S.
(2012, August). Trajectories of
teacher-student relationships from
age 4/5 to age 8/9 years and
achievement in literacy and
mathematics at age 10/11 in a
nationally representative study of
Australian children. Paper presented
at the ISSBD biennial conference,
Edmonton, Alberta.
RIPPLE (2011, December). The RIPPLE
Effect. Issue 2. Retrieved from
http://www.csu.edu.au/__data/assets/
pdf_file/0012/200523/RIPPLENewsletter_Issue-2-2011.pdf
Sanson, A., Nicholson, J., Ungerer, J.,
Zubrick, S., Wilson, K., Ainley, J.,
Berthelsen, D., Bittman, M., Broom,
D., Harrison, L., Rodgers, B.,
Sawyer, M., Silburn, S., Strazdins, L.,
Vimpani, G., & Wake, M. (2002).
Introducing the Longitudinal Study of
Australian Children: LSAC
Discussion Paper Number 1.
Melbourne: Australian Institute of
Family Studies.
Smith, E. (2008). Using secondary data
in educational and social research.
Maidenhead, England: Open
University Press (online).
Vartanian, T. P. (2011). Secondary data
analysis. Oxford University Press
(online). Retrieved from
http://books.google.com.au/
Verdon, S., & McLeod, S. (2012, Dec).
Changes in the cultural and linguistic
diversity of Australian children. Paper
presented at the AARE annual
conference, Sydney.
RIPPLE RESEARCHER
PROFILE
Prof Lisa Given
Feature piece by Kim Woodland
Prof Lisa Given is an energetic
combination of intelligence,
accomplishment and good humour.
Despite her formidable
achievements, she manages to be
approachable and willing to use her
skills where they are needed most.
The School of Information Studies
on the CSU Wagga Wagga campus
was fortunate to have Lisa join them
as a Professor in 2011. RIPPLE was
pleased to welcome her as a
member to the Pedagogy, Education
and Praxis group at the same time.
To start work in Australia, Lisa and
her husband Dan made the dramatic
transition from a Canadian Winter to
an Australian Summer. They began
a blog, waggadventure, to document
their journey, which is peppered with
amusing perceptions of life in rural
Australia, including their introduction
to ‘sausage sangas’ and pie-eating
and sheepdog competitions at local
agricultural shows.
Let’s step back briefly to look at what
brought Lisa here—but we can’t
dwell for long as there is so much
happening in her present to discuss.
Lisa’s studies have all been
undertaken in Canada, at the
University of Western Ontario, with
her Doctor of Philosophy in Library
and Information Science awarded in
2001. She had also been employed
at the University since 1993 when
she began lecturing.
The position Lisa recently
transferred from was Professor in
Library and Information Studies at
the University of Alberta in
Edmonton, Canada. She had also
been employed there as Director
and then Distinguished Scholar at
the International Institute for
Qualitative Methodology in the
Faculty of Nursing. She continues to
be Adjunct Professor in Educational
Policy Studies and in Humanities
Computing at Alberta.
Lisa’s expertise in information
management has been called upon
to provide expert testimony in cases
of information credibility in relation to
citizenship, immigration and refugee
issues in the Canadian court system.
“Part of the problem is the nature of
information,” Lisa explains. “People
often were taking things at face
value and not actually tracking back
and looking at the original source
The RIPPLE Effect
documents.” She used her skills to
critically analyse documents,
resulting in many positive (and more
accurate) outcomes. “The very first
case I was involved in, which was
exciting actually, because no one
had ever questioned the source
evidence in this way, ended up
actually setting a precedent in
Canada.” In 2006, her profile was
added to Carswell’s Litigator—
Expert witness directory.
Lisa has also been involved in
fascinating international
development work, including
advising on the E-Learning and
Knowledge Network (E-NET)
Program for South East Europe
(Balkan Region, Bosnia and
Herzegovina) from 2003 to 2005.
But back to the present and Lisa’s
second Australian summer. Her job
title of Professor is really only the
beginning of what she does in her
professional life. Here is a glimpse
into the busy-ness of her schedule:
• Member of the College of
Experts for the Australian
Research Council.
• Higher Degrees by Research
and Honours Coordinator in the
School of Information Studies.
• Supervisor of doctoral and
masters students at CSU and
universities in Canada.
• Reviewer of grant applications,
publications, tenure and
promotion applications, and
awards.
• Editorial board member for The
Open Information Science
Journal and The Reference
Librarian, and Associate Editor
of International Journal of
Qualitative Methods (and Editor
of its Insider Insights column).
• Member of the Education
Working Group of the
Australian Library and
Information Association.
As with many academics, there is an
international flavour to Lisa’s work,
exemplified by her membership in
national scholarly associations in
three countries: Australia, Canada
and the United States.
Her research is also interdisciplinary
and extends beyond information
science to the fields of education,
information technology and nursing.
“Because I see information
everywhere, I can see how the
Issue 2, 2012
3
theories and the lessons and the
research that we do in our work can
apply in these other contexts,” says
Lisa. “Information science really is at
the heart of every discipline, even
though some people don’t realise it.
It’s endless, it can take you to any
discipline if you want to and I just
happen to be lucky enough to work
with some really great people in
some really interesting other fields.”
I see information
everywhere. I can see
how the theories and the
lessons and the research
that we do in our work
can apply in...other
contexts. Information
science really is at the
heart of every discipline.
Lisa explains how she focuses her
attention given so many tempting
research opportunities. “For me the
key is that I come at it in a particular
way. I look at information behaviour
as my key point of focus and so I’m
very interested in how do individuals
make sense of their worlds, how do
they perceive information, how does
it affect their decision making, how
do they locate things online, those
kinds of questions. And within each
project, that’s my specialty area.”
“I’m not trying to tackle everything
within my discipline and be an expert
in 20,000 things. I’m trying to take
my expertise in a particular defined
area and then examine it in various
contexts.” She draws an example
from the health industry. “If it’s a
health topic,” explains Lisa, “I’m
often coming at it from the side of
health consumers—regular people
who are engaging with physicians—
and then looking at what lessons we
can learn that a healthcare
practitioner could pick up and use to
improve their communication with
patients and families.”
Receiving externally competitive
funding is one measure of success
in academia, and Lisa excels at it.
She is currently a co-researcher on
the following grants:
• Canadian Institutes of Health
Research. Engaging
Aboriginal youth in tobacco
prevention using social
media.
The RIPPLE Effect
• Australian Research Council.
Interacting with knowledge,
interacting with people: Web
searching in early childhood.
• Canadian Institutes of Health
Research. A scoping review
of social media in health
care.
• Networks of Centres of
Excellence of Canada. TREKK:
Translating emergency
knowledge for kids.
• Social Sciences and
Humanities Research Council
of Canada. The role of social
media in management of
knowledge in non-profit
organizations and Just what
do they do? Studying the
usage of online text analysis
tools.
Her research is also well-awarded.
Over the last few years Lisa has won
the following prizes:
• Martha Cook Piper Research
Prize, University of Alberta.
• Young Alumni Award of Merit,
University of Western Ontario.
• Methodology Paper,
Association for Library and
Information Science Education.
• Award for Visual Traffic
Sweeps (VTS): A research
method for mapping user
activities in the library space
(co-author, Heather Archibald).
Understandably, Lisa’s publication
list is extensive, and includes
prestigious works such as The Sage
Encyclopedia of Qualitative
Research Methods (2008, Sage
Publications). We look forward to
seeing what she will do next!
To learn more about Lisa’s exciting
work, please visit lisagiven.com.
RESEARCH UPDATES
Educational leadership
Dr Jane Wilkinson delivered a
presentation on educational
leadership and professional
development practices in rural and
regional communities at the Clayton
campus of Monash University in
September. Jane drew on findings
from the ARC Discovery project
Leading and learning, of which she
is a Chief Investigator (along with
Prof Stephen Kemmis, Dr Christine
Edwards-Groves and Dr Ian Hardy).
New resources on how
children learn to write
RIPPLE researcher, Dr Noella
Mackenzie, recently launched her
12-minute video and brochure for
Riverina parents on how young
school children learn to write.
Noella prepared the resources as
part of her 4-year research study,
Becoming a writer. Her research has
included working with Pre-school,
Prep and Kindergarten students and
teachers in NSW and Victoria. Her
work explores how young children
learn to write and how teachers
approach writing instruction. In
particular, Noella looks at the
important relationship between
talking, drawing and early writing.
The video will be shown to the
parents of Kindergarten children in
Riverina public schools from late
2012. Parents will also be able to
take home a companion brochure.
View the video here.
The resources were developed with the
financial assistance of the NSW
Department of Education and
Communities Riverina Equity program.
Prof Sharynne McLeod to
present the 2013 Elizabeth
Usher Memorial Lecture
Speech Pathology Australia has
invited Prof Sharynne McLeod to
present the prestigious Elizabeth
Usher Memorial Lecture at their
2013 conference to be held on the
Gold Coast in June. Gail Mulcair,
CEO of Speech Pathology Australia,
says Sharynne’s invitation was
“overwhelmingly supported by all of
Council and is an acknowledgement
of [her] extensive knowledge,
expertise and contribution to the
profession.” Sharynne will also
receive the Elizabeth Usher Award
for 2013 which will be presented at
the conference.
Issue 2, 2012
4
Science Meets Parliament
L to R: Prof Merrilyn Goos (University of
Queensland), Dr Amy MacDonald
(Charles Sturt University), A/Prof Gloria
Stillman (Australian Catholic University)
Image: Lorna Sim/Science and
Technology Australia
Report from Dr Amy MacDonald
On 17 and 18 September, I had the
opportunity to attend Science Meets
Parliament in Canberra. I was invited
to attend as a representative of the
Mathematics Education Research
Group of Australasia (MERGA).
time; and, finally, a cocktail reception
hosted by the Greens. At the
reception, I had the opportunity to
speak with Senator Larissa Waters,
Senator Richard Di Natale, and
Adam Bandt’s advisor—all of whom
seemed very interested in the
importance of early childhood
education.
The second day—Tuesday—began
with a breakfast address by
Parliamentary Secretary Mark
Dreyfus (stepping in for Julia Gillard
and Greg Combet, who both had to
cancel at the last minute). I then had
a face-to-face meeting with my local
member, Shadow Minister for
Industry, Innovation and Science,
Sophie Mirabella. We talked at
length about the importance of
maths and science in early childhood
education, and she seems keen to
keep in touch as well as visit the
CSU campus here in Albury.
The rest of the day consisted of
attending the National Press Club
lunchtime address, given by Nobel
Laureate Brian Schmidt; question
The RIPPLE Effect
Prof Karin Rönnerman
Overall, Science Meets Parliament
was a valuable opportunity for me
which has increased my skills in
communicating my research to
media, policymakers and politicians,
and has provided me with
opportunities to build networks and
establish contacts with
parliamentarians.
A parent’s perspective on
COAG reform agenda
Science Meets Parliament is a twoday event which brings together
about 200 of the nation's top
scientists and puts them face-to-face
with the decision-makers in
Canberra.
Monday was ‘briefing day’ and I was
able to network with the nation’s best
scientists as well as listen to
presentations from parliamentarians,
peak science organisations and
media personalities. Monday
concluded with a gala dinner in The
Great Hall at Parliament House, with
the dinner address given by Chris
Evans, Minister for Tertiary
Education, Skills, Science and
Research.
VISITING SCHOLAR
RIPPLE doctoral student, Tamara
Cumming, was recently invited to
contribute a parent’s perspective on
the Council of Australian
Government’s Early Childhood
reform agenda to the 2012
Australian Community Children’s
Services conference.
She also provided a follow-up piece
to the practitioner journal Rattler.
Correction: In Issue 1 2012 of The
RIPPLE Effect, the doctoral students
working on school transitions research
should have been attributed to the
Educational Transitions and Change
(ETC) research group. New PhD scholar,
Susanne Rogers, is also an ETC
student.
RIPPLE was pleased to welcome
Prof Karin Rönnerman as a Visiting
Scholar from October to December.
Karin is a Professor in Education at
the University of Gothenburg,
Sweden, and an Adjunct Professor
of RIPPLE. She spent the majority of
her time in Australia based in
Research House on the CSU Wagga
Wagga campus, with regular visits to
the School of Education.
Karin is an expert in action research
and her most recent field of study
has been within early childhood
education. She engages in
collaborative research with schools
and local authorities, has developed
an action research for quality course
for preschool teachers (förskola),
and publishes both in Swedish and
internationally.
She co-leads two important
international networks: the
Pedagogy, Education and Praxis
(PEP) international network; and the
Nordic Network for Action Research,
which has its own annual
conference.
While in Wagga Wagga, Karin met
with academics, worked on crossnational empirical PEP projects and
engaged in strategic planning with
the PEP research group.
She also held a research seminar on
her current work on 31 October. The
seminar focused on a study
undertaken in two Swedish
preschools as part of the Leading
and learning: Developing ecologies
of educational practice research
project.
Issue 2, 2012
5
RESEARCH FELLOW
Q&A with Dr Tuija
Turunen
The biggest project I have been
working on is the Narratives of
transition: Starting school in different
decades study. I have recorded over
90 autobiographical interviews with
people who started school in
Australia, or first overseas and then
in Australia, between 1928 and
1995. The participants represent
three groups: early settlement
Australians; migrant background
Australians; and Indigenous
Australians.
It has been a fascinating research
project. I have been provided an
opportunity to meet interesting
people and listen to their stories. I
have heard about murders, fairies,
bushfires, flights from home and
great childhood adventures.
Recently I met a person who spent
his early childhood by travelling
across Australia in a droving family.
We are sadly farewelling one of our
Research Fellows, Dr Tuija Turunen.
Tuija has spent the past three years
working with the Educational
Transitions and Change (ETC)
research group.
During her time with RIPPLE, she
has worked closely with Professors
Sue Dockett and Bob Perry, RIPPLE
Research Fellows—Dr Siew Yin Ho,
Dr Sandie Wong and Dr Laurette
Bristol—and also her Finnish
colleagues.
Tuija answered a few questions for
us about her time as a RIPPLE
Research Fellow.
What initially attracted you to CSU
and RIPPLE for your Research
Fellow work?
[Click here to view the factsheet for
the Narratives of transition research
project]
It has been a fascinating
research project...I have
heard about murders,
fairies, bushfires, flights
from home and great
childhood adventures.
Is there one thing that stands out
for you about your time as a
Research Fellow?
Not one specific thing but a whole
experience and colleagues I have
met here. Many of them
have become friends. From a
professional perspective I really
value the research skills, including
writing in my second language, I
have learnt here. I am also looking
forward to continuing my work with
CSU and other Australian
academics.
Tell us about the major projects
and events you have been
involved in.
What are your plans for the
future?
The RIPPLE Effect
RIPPLE wishes Tuija and her family all
the best for settling back into life in
Rovaniemi. We look forward to
continuing to collaborate in the future.
EVENTS
CRN whole-of-network
meeting in Brisbane
The publications from the project are
in progress and I am anticipating at
least four. One is currently under
review and three papers are nearly
finished and ready to be submitted.
After working for over six years at
the University of Lapland in a
teaching intensive position I felt that
it was time for some change. The
research fellowship at RIPPLE
provided an opportunity to do only
research and learn about doing
research outside Finland. Working in
Australia also seemed to be a great
adventure for me and my family.
I have done some work with early
years’ curriculum and deepened my
understanding about discourse
analysis and narrative inquiry.
nice to go back ‘home’. There will be
some arrangements in the Faculty
and I am optimistic that in the future I
will work in a more research
intensive post than before. My
husband is already in Rovaniemi and
I am really looking forward to the
family reunion.
I will go back to Rovaniemi and
continue my academic career at the
University of Lapland. During my
Fellowship I have been on a leave of
absence from there and it will be
From 4 to 8 June, 68 members of
the Excellence in Research in Early
Years Education Collaborative
Research Network (EYE CRN) met
in Brisbane. Participants from CSU,
the Queensland University of
Technology and Monash University
attended a diverse range of
workshops and presentations to
build on their research
understanding and strengthen their
connections with other researchers.
2012 RIPPLE Symposium
The annual RIPPLE Symposium was
held on the Wagga Wagga campus
of CSU on 25 and 26 June. The
event was extremely well attended,
with approximately 30 of our
members presenting, participating,
and collaborating on RIPPLE-related
work into professional practice.
Issue 2, 2012
6
Prof Stephen Kemmis welcomed
members to the Symposium, and
remained the Chair throughout the
two-day event. Prof Tom Lowrie
opened the Symposium with a
presentation on the future iterations
of RIPPLE’s research program. This
was followed by presentations on the
activities being undertaken by each
of RIPPLE’s research groups. The
remainder of the first day was taken
up with interesting reports from
recent RIPPLE Fellowship holders.
The second day of the Symposium
began with RIPPLE’s two Strategic
Professors—Prof Bill Green and Prof
Joy Higgs—giving talks on their
current research programs.
Presentations by Fellowship holders
also continued from the previous
day—the last 18 months have been
very productive with an intense and
varied range of professional practice
work being undertaken by our
researchers on Fellowship.
Participants then divided into groups
to discuss possibilities for continuing
and new research collaborations
within and beyond RIPPLE,
improving RIPPLE Higher Degree
Research supervision, and
enhancing RIPPLE administrative
and research support.
Prof Kemmis concluded the
Symposium by wrapping up the
discussion findings and directing
attention to the future opportunities
and challenges facing RIPPLE
researchers.
RIPPLE–PEP International
Doctoral School
This year’s RIPPLE-PEP
International five-day doctoral school
was held at Palm Beach in
Queensland, from 22 to 28
November. The Pedagogy,
Education and Praxis (PEP) event
was titled Researching professional
practice: Transforming theory, policy,
practice. Participants included
doctoral students from CSU and
from PEP’s partner Nordic
universities (Tromsø in Norway,
Gothenburg in Sweden, and Åbo
Akademi University in Finland), as
well as the University of Western
Ontario in Canada.
The annual PEP International
meeting coincided with the doctoral
school and was held from 25 to 29
November. The meeting allowed
The RIPPLE Effect
doctoral students to talk with a
number of leading international
researchers in professional practice.
On 30 November, PEP International
presented a half-day seminar on its
research at the Griffith University
Gold Coast campus. Prof Stephen
Billett of Griffith University was
discussant.
Two Swedish doctoral students—
Paula Larsson and Annika Lindh
Falk—kindly provided a student
perspective on attending the
Doctoral School.
The experience of being overseas
PhD students at the Researching
professional practice doctoral
school
We are both PhD students from
Sweden but we did not know each
other before this course. When we
left Sweden it was cold and dark and
we did have a lot of expectations of
the course even though we were
nervous about the challenges with
discussing and sharing ideas in a
foreign language. When we arrived
at the Gold Coast we were both
impressed by this beautiful place
and space.
One of the things we will
take back to our own
research practice is the
opportunity we had to
meet…experienced and
well known researchers
who were very interested
and open-minded to our
topics and took time to
answer our questions.
The practice arrangements of the
PhD course were a good mix of
group discussions, lectures, formal
and informal social meetings, and
networking for future research. This
English spoken practice challenged
and encouraged us in a positive
way, even though at the weekend
we decided to have a ‘Swedish day’.
We did enjoy this beautiful part of
Australia, visiting the Currumbin
wildlife park, and for the first time we
hugged a Koala.
One of the things we will take back
to our own research practice is the
opportunity we had to meet and talk
to very experienced and well known
researchers who were very
interested and open-minded to our
topics and took time to answer our
questions, even if we struggled with
our English. Another thing is the
future friendship and network with
our Australian colleagues who we
hopefully will meet again soon.
The overall experience of the
research course, Researching
professional practice, is that it has
been one of the best experiences
during our research journey. Making
contacts in the Gold Coast
environment has stimulated us to
continue our PhD challenges.
AARE-APERA 2012
Dr Sandie Wong presenting on
integrated services at AARE-APERA
The 2012 joint International
Conference of the Australian
Association for Research in
Education (AARE) and the Asia
Pacific Educational Research
Association (APERA) was held in
Sydney, from 2 to 6 December. The
conference also hosted the 2012
Focal Meeting of the World
Education Research Association
(WERA).
The theme of the event was
Regional and global cooperation in
educational research. It brought
together educational researchers
from Australia, the Asia-Pacific, and
many other countries around the
world. The opportunity to share
perspectives focused on national
curricula; teacher education,
accreditation and professional
learning; and working with
technology.
The conference was well attended
by RIPPLE members and Adjuncts,
who also contributed to the packed
program by chairing symposia,
presenting papers, and joining in the
discussions.
Issue 2, 2012
7
A day and a year in the life
of a Future Fellow: Prof
Sharynne McLeod
The cycle of publishing journal
articles—2012
From time to time I find it helpful to
reflect on the entire cycle of
publishing journal articles.
Here is what 2012 is looking like so
far: 4 published, 6 in press, and 9 in
submission.
There are more articles that are
currently being written and planned.
It is such a pleasure to publish with
my students and colleagues on
topics that hopefully will make a
difference in children's lives.
Two blog entries from Professor
Sharynne McLeod (Speaking my
languages) give an insight into the
life of a Future Fellow.
A busy day—22 August 2012
During the time I have been working
on my Future Fellowship I don't think
that any day has been exactly the
same as any other. A research
fellowship is not all about sitting at a
computer and typing (as [my] blog
demonstrates). Yesterday I didn't
leave my office, but had multiple
teleconferences and Skype calls.
Here is how yesterday looked:
8:00 am
Check emails that have
arrived overnight from all
around the world
9:30am
Listen to my PhD student's
research presentation in
Wagga Wagga (via
teleconference)
11:00 am
Attend a meeting regarding
the Collaborative Research
Network in Wagga Wagga
(via teleconference)
12:30pm
2:00 pm
4:30 pm
6:00 pm
9:00 pm
Discuss a book proposal
with a colleague in Albury
(via phone)
Write a section of a book
chapter and check the
statistical analysis for a
journal article
Discuss student projects
with two groups of students
in Viet Nam (via Skype)
Discuss reviewers’
comments about a journal
article with my masters
student who graduated last
year in Sydney (via phone)
Discuss the final tweaks of a
journal article with three
colleagues in the USA and
Sydney (via Skype)
The RIPPLE Effect
I also have books, book chapters,
and conference presentations
undergoing the same cycle of
publication.
Published
McCormack, J., McAllister, L. McLeod,
S., & Harrison, L. J., (2012).
Knowing, having, doing: The battles
of childhood speech impairment.
Child Language Teaching and
Therapy, 28, 141-157.
Williams, C. J., & McLeod, S. (2012).
Speech-language pathologists’
assessment and intervention
practices with multilingual children.
International Journal of SpeechLanguage Pathology, 14(3), 292–
305.
McLeod, S., Harrison, L. J., &
McCormack, J. (2012). Intelligibility
in Context Scale: Validity and
reliability of a subjective rating
measure. Journal of Speech,
Language, and Hearing Research,
55, 648-656.
Toohill, B., McLeod, S., & McCormack, J.
(2012). Effect of dialect on
identification and severity of speech
impairment in Indigenous Australian
children, Clinical Linguistics and
Phonetics, 26(2), 101-119.
In Press
McLeod, S., Daniel, G., & Barr, J. (2012,
in press August). “When he’s around
his brothers...he’s not so quiet”: The
private and public worlds of schoolaged children with speech sound
disorder. Journal of Communication
Disorders.
Wren, Y., McLeod, S., White, P., Miller,
L., & Roulstone, S. (2012, in press
August). Speech characteristics of 8year-old children with speech
difficulties: Findings from a
prospective population study. Journal
of Communication Disorders.
Crowe, K., McLeod, S., & Ching, T. Y. C.
(2012, in press June). The cultural
and linguistic diversity of 3-year-old
children with hearing loss. Journal of
Deaf Studies and Deaf Education.
Hambly, H., Wren, Y., McLeod, S., &
Roulstone, S. (2012, in press May).
The influence of bilingualism on
speech production: A systematic
review. International Journal of
Language and Communication
Disorders.
To, C. K. -S., Cheung, P. S. -P., &
McLeod, S. (2012, in press March). A
population study of children's
acquisition of Hong Kong Cantonese
consonants, vowels, and tones.
Journal of Speech, Language, and
Hearing Research.
Washington, K. N., Thomas-Stonell, N.,
McLeod, S., & Warr-Leeper, G.
(2012, in press February). Parents’
perspectives on the professionalchild relationship and children’s
functional communication following
speech-language intervention.
Canadian Journal of SpeechLanguage Pathology and Audiology /
Revue canadienne d'orthophonie et
d'audiologie.
In Submission and Under Review
With many different co-authors
Designs and decisions: The creation and
use of informal measures for
assessing speech production in
children.
The impact of extrinsic demographic
factors on Cantonese speech sound
acquisition.
Construct Validity of the FOCUS©
(Focus on the Outcomes of
Communication Under Six): A
functional communication outcome
measure for preschool children.
Predictors and outcomes of
communicative participation for
preschoolers with speech-language
impairments with and without
concomitant mobility impairments.
Applying the World Report on Disability
to Australian children with
communication disability.
Multilingual children with hearing loss:
Factors contributing to language use
at home and early education.
Factors that enhance English-speaking
speech-language pathologists’
transcription of Cantonese-speaking
children.
Speech sound disorders in a community
sample of preschool children.
Phonetic variations and sound changes
in Hong Kong Cantonese and
implications for speech sound
assessment.
Issue 2, 2012
8
RIPPLE RESEARCHER
PROFILE
Dr Brian Hemmings
Feature piece by Kim Woodland
Start Dr Brian Hemmings talking
about sport, and his enthusiasm and
knowledge—particularly for tennis,
cricket and golf—shines through.
Combined with his interest in the
learning journey of children and
adolescents, you can see why he
originally trained as a secondary
physical education teacher.
Brian taught in a number of primary
and secondary schools throughout
NSW before moving to a tertiary
environment 27 years ago. He
began working full-time for the
Riverina-Murray Institute of Higher
Education, one of CSU’s
predecessor institutions, before
moving to CSU.
Brian talks about his growing interest
in research once he rejoined the
university environment. “I have
always been a curious person and
enjoy finding out about people, and
the environment and social factors
that not only shape behaviour but
also give rise to feelings of
satisfaction,” he explains.
He first formed an interest in
empirical research while working on
his Honours thesis at the University
of Sydney, and subsequently copublished his first article with his
Honours supervisor in the New
Zealand Journal of Health, Physical
Education and Recreation.
“The researching and writing was a
very satisfying experience,” says
Brian, explaining what led him to
pursue postgraduate studies several
years later at the University of
Newcastle. These studies focused
The RIPPLE Effect
on educational psychology and
special education. He also worked
as a Research Assistant. “This RA
employment was invaluable,” he
says. “It gave me insights as to how
skilled researchers plan and conduct
research, and then disseminate
information from their projects.”
Brian’s interest in research and
writing continued to be nurtured
once he began work at CSU. Three
senior researchers—Eddie Braggett,
Doug Hill and Russell Kay—
mentored him in establishing and
building a career blending teaching
and research. “They particularly
stressed to me to maintain a
reasonable balance among my
teaching, research and
administration duties but, in so
doing, use my research to inform my
teaching and the practice of others,”
Brian explains. “Both Doug and
Russell are still researching with me
to this day.”
These colleagues also encouraged
and supported Brian through his fiveyear PhD studies at the University of
New South Wales. His doctoral
research drew on survey and case
study methods to explain and predict
continuance or discontinuance in
post-compulsory schooling in NSW.
“A notable finding of the research
was that a student’s goal
commitment and school commitment
was influenced by how well his or
her social and academic needs were
met by the school in the transition to
Year 11,” outlines Brian.
I have always been a
curious person and enjoy
finding out about people,
and the environment and
social factors that not
only shape behaviour but
also give rise to feelings
of satisfaction.
Early on, Brian steadily built a
network of colleagues both in
Australia and overseas. He joined
professional associations such as
the Australian Association for
Research in Education (AARE) and
the Society for the Provision of
Education in Rural Australia
(SPERA). This led to invitations for
Brian to examine theses, write book
chapters and journal articles, and
serve on journal editorial boards.
More recently, Brian has focused his
research on examining achievement,
and the factors that influence the
academic development of children,
adolescents and adults. His current
projects centre on the notion of
lecturer self-efficacy and a subcomponent referred to as research
self-efficacy (or self-confidence in
being able to carry out tasks
associated with research).
Brian collaborates with Russell Kay
and Prof John Sharp from Bishop
Grosseteste University College in
Lincoln (UK), on this work. The
researchers use a survey
methodology to investigate how
publication output is influenced by
research self-efficacy and other
factors. Brian enthusiastically talks
about their findings. “The results of
this work show clearly that research
self-efficacy is a very potent
predictor of publication output, and it
is more predictive than academic
qualifications and time devoted to
research activity,” he says. “This
finding has important implications for
practice and professional
development programs.”
Accordingly, Brian and Doug Hill
have been employing case study
techniques to explore how research
self-efficacy can be strengthened for
academics, particularly during early
career stages and in a range of
institutional settings. They recently
produced an online resource at CSU
targeting the professional
development of new academic staff
members and overall research
capacity building.
Brian hopes to extend this research
by submitting an Australian
Research Council Linkage
application for 2013, looking at
educator professional practice and
developmental transitions. This
research, if funded, will focus on the
research practices of those
educators working in the nonuniversity higher education sector.
His work fits well within the RIPPLE
Educational Transitions and Change
research group, and he is grateful for
the support other members provide.
“Without the support of colleagues
based within RIPPLE and the
facilities of RIPPLE, projects and
programs would not have
Issue 2, 2012
9
This column: Photos from the 2012
RIPPLE Symposium in June
progressed as rapidly as they have. I
am indebted to RIPPLE and my
fellow colleagues.” The feeling is
mutual, and as RIPPLE’s Deputy
Director, Brian returns the favour by
actively encouraging and supporting
other members in return.
To further explore Brian’s current
research into lecturer and research
self-efficacy, a list of several relevant
publications is provided below.
Hemmings, B., Hill, D., & Sharp, J. G.
(submitted). Factors shaping early
academic research career trajectories:
A transnational study. International
Journal for Researcher Development.
EYE CRN participants at a Longitudinal
Study of Indigenous Children (LSIC)
training session held in August
RIPPLE’s Research Fellows: Dr Sandie
Wong, Dr Siew Yin Ho, Dr Laurette
Bristol and Dr Tuija Turunen
Hemmings, B., Kay, R., Sharp, J., &
Taylor, C. (2012). A transnational
comparison of lecturer self-efficacy.
Journal of Further and Higher
Education, 36(3), 291-308.
Hemmings, B. (2012). Sources of
research confidence for early career
academics: A qualitative study. Higher
Education Research and Development,
31(2), 171-184.
Hemmings, B., & Kay, R. (2010).
Research self-efficacy, publication
output, and early career development.
International Journal of Educational
Management, 24(7), 562-574.
Prof Jo-Anne Reid and Lucie Zundans
celebrate with Dr Noella Mackenzie at a
cocktail party following the 2012 Office
for Learning and Teaching Citation
ceremony at the University of Sydney
Dr Amy MacDonald, Dr Brian Hemmings
and Dr Laura Piazza
PHOTO GALLERY
Dr Elise Baker (University of Sydney),
Sarah Verdon, Dr Sandie Wong and Prof
Sharynne McLeod on the CSU Bathurst
campus ready to attend Sarah’s
endorsement of PhD candidature
session
A/Prof Barney Dalgarno chats with
A/Prof Jane Mitchell
Prof Sharynne McLeod chairs an
International Expert Panel on Multilingual
Chilldren’s Speech (Cork, Ireland)
Dr Laurette Bristol, Dr Jeannie Herbert
and Dr Celina McEwen share a cuppa
Research Fellow, Dr Siew Yin Ho,
presents at the Psychology of
Mathematics Education conference in
Taiwan during July
The RIPPLE Effect
Dr Caroline Bowen and Prof Sharynne
McLeod working on the Multilingual
Children with Speech Sound Disorders
Position Paper
Issue 2, 2012
10
ACHIEVEMENTS
Outstanding RIPPLE
success in ARC funding
We recently received exciting news
that a number of RIPPLE members
were successful in the latest round
of Australian Research Council
Discovery funding, with 4 research
projects to start in 2013 (CSU and
RIPPLE will lead 3 of these).
Prof Sue Dockett and Prof Bob
Perry Continuity and change in
curriculum and pedagogies as
children start school ($301,610)
This project considers the impact of
the Early Years Learning Framework
and the Australian Curriculum on
transition to school in Australia.
Through extensive interviews and
surveys, it gathers evidence to
influence theoretical, policy and
practice approaches to transition to
school and, hence, the future
schooling of all Australian children.
Prof Jennifer Sumsion, as part of
a team from Queensland
University of Technology, Prof
Sue Grieshaber, A/Prof Felicity
McArdle and Mr Paul Shield
Education meets play: A sociological
study of how the new compulsory
national learning framework for
children zero to five years influences
educators' practice ($299,122)
Prof Sharynne McLeod, Dr Elise
Baker, Dr Jane McCormack, Dr
Yvonne Wren and Prof Sue
Roulstone A sound start: Innovative
technology to promote speech and
pre-literacy skills in at-risk
preschoolers ($284,551)
One in five Australian preschoolers
have speech impairment and without
specialist services face an increased
risk of reading difficulties and lifelong consequences. Given that
demand for services exceeds
supply, this project will determine if a
preschool computer-based service
can promote speech development
and reduce risk of reading difficulty.
The RIPPLE Effect
2012 Office for Learning
and Teaching Citation
New theorising about play and
education in early childhood settings
has challenged traditional notions of
play. This project investigates how
educators respond to the
requirement for play-based learning
by identifying characteristics of
successful educators and
professional leaders, and strategies
and practices that merge education
and play.
Queen’s Birthday
Honours List
Prof Tom Lowrie Processing
mathematics tasks: The nature and
role of visual and non-visual
reasoning in digital and non-digital
environments ($256,000)
Within the next four years, it is likely
that the National Assessment Plan
for Literacy and Numeracy
(NAPLAN) will be administered in a
digital mode. This project identifies
differences between the delivery of
mathematics assessment in penciland-paper and computer-based
modes. Primary students'
mathematics reasoning is compared
across these modes and to cohorts
from Singapore.
tobacco prevention using social
media. Lisa’s co-researchers will be
Dr Cindy Jardine and Candace
Nykiforuk, both from the University of
Alberta.
Congratulations to PEP member,
Prof Jeannie Herbert (AM), for her
inclusion in the Queen’s Birthday
Honours List. Prof Herbert is the
Foundation Chair of the Centre for
Indigenous Studies based on the
Dubbo campus of CSU.
She has been made a Member in
the General Division of the Order of
Australia (AM), for “service to tertiary
education, particularly through
improvements to educational
outcomes for Indigenous people,
and to the delivery of learning
opportunities across regional and
remote northern Australia’.
Canadian Institutes of
Health Research funding
Prof Lisa Given has continued her
success in securing research
funding. She has recently been
awarded funding from the Canadian
Institutes of Health Research
(CIHR)—along with two coresearchers—for the project,
Engaging Aboriginal youth in
Congratulations to Dr Noella
Mackenzie on receiving a 2012
Australian Award for University
Teaching for Outstanding
Contributions to Student Learning.
These awards recognise quality
teaching practice and outstanding
contributions to student learning.
Noella’s citation was for “sustained
quality in effectively integrating on
campus classes, field experiences
and technologies to promote
students’ understandings and use of
contemporary literacies”. She was
awarded her citation at a ceremony
held on 25 September at the
University of Sydney.
Vice Chancellor’s Award
for Research Supervision
Excellence
Well done to Professors Bob Perry
and Sue Dockett, who recently
received the Vice Chancellor’s
Award for Research Supervision
Excellence. Both are members of the
RIPPLE ETC group, with Bob the
group leader. Bob and Sue were
nominated for this award by their
Higher Degree Research students—
which clearly demonstrates the high
regard in which they are held. You
can read about the collaborative
research environment that ETC
shares with its doctoral students in
Issue 1 2012 of The RIPPLE Effect
(Research into School Transition
piece on p. 7).
Issue 2, 2012
11
PUBLICATIONS
Plantation pedagogy
Resource for Early
Childhood leaders
Practice-based education
Two new books on practice-based
education have been released by
Sense Publishers. Both belong to
the Practice, Education, Work and
Society series (Series Editor: Prof
Joy Higgs), which examines
research, theory and practice in the
context of university education,
professional practice, work and
society.
Practice-based education:
Perspectives and strategies
examines the trend of practicebased education within higher
education and includes strategies for
implementation in teaching, learning
and curriculum development.
Congratulations to Research Fellow,
Dr Laurette Bristol, on the
publication of her book, Plantation
pedagogy: A postcolonial and global
perspective. The book was
published by Peter Lang in the
Global Studies in Education series. It
is written from the perspective of an
Afro-Caribbean primary school
teacher’s experience and “extends
and illuminates the limitations of
current neo-liberal and global
rationalizations of the challenges
posed to a teacher’s practice.”
Multilingual Children’s
Speech web site launched
Realising exemplary practice-based
education assists educators,
scholars, practitioners and
researchers to explore practicebased education concepts and
theories in real life teaching spaces.
It also considers how educators and
scholars in other disciplines apply
the theory within their fields.
Prof Sharynne McLeod has
overseen the creation of the new
Multilingual Children’s Speech web
site. The site presents a compilation
of resources for speech-language
pathologists who work with
multilingual children with speech
sound disorders. The material may
also be useful for others who support
monolingual and multilingual
children’s speech skills including
educators, interpreters, other health
and education professionals, families
and communities.
Funding for the web site was
provided by Sharynne’s Australian
Research Council Future Fellowship.
Colleagues from CSU, as well as
speech-language pathologists,
phoneticians, linguists and others
around the world also contributed to
the site’s development.
http://www.csu.edu.au/research/multi
lingual-speech/
The RIPPLE Effect
RIPPLE researchers, Dr Sandie
Wong, Prof Jennifer Sumsion and
A/Prof Frances Press researched
and authored the recently released
resource, Supporting professional
learning in an integrated context: A
resource for Early Childhood
leaders, which was developed on
behalf of the Professional Support
Coordinators Alliance (PSCA). The
resource will support leaders within
Australian early years’ services. It is
aimed at both existing integrated
services as well as those who are
working toward greater integration.
RIPPLE is now on Twitter
@RIPPLE_CSU
Follow us on Twitter. We are using
Twitter to promote the work of our
members to the broader community;
provide timely and relevant
information to our members and
students; and monitor current
information on funding opportunities,
changes to policy and other news
relevant to our Institute.
Contact RIPPLE
RIPPLE
Charles Sturt University
Locked Bag 588
Boorooma Street
Wagga Wagga NSW 2678
Australia
Tel: +61 2 6933 2966
Fax: +61 2 6933 2962
Email: [email protected]
www.csu.edu.au/research/ripple
Issue 2, 2012
12