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AUSTRALIAN EDUCATION DIGEST

Volume 4 Number 31, 31 August 2010

SCHOOL CHAPLAINCY PROGRAM: (7 items)
SCIENCE EDUCATION: (2 items)
TOWARDS A NATIONAL CURRICULUM: (2 items)
TECHNICAL EDUCATION: (2 items)
TERTIARY EDUCATION: (2 items)
RURAL & REGIONAL EDUCATION: Sidney Myer Chair of Rural Education & Communities
EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP: (2 items)
AROUND THE STATES & TERRITORIES: (15 items)
REMINDERS
ACSSO EMAIL NEWSLETTERS

SCHOOL CHAPLAINCY PROGRAM

The Public vs the Political Debate: so far, the wrong response - and for the wrong reasons

Rupert Macgregor, 31 August 2010

In 2004-5 the then government at senior levels sought to ignite a debate about Values – from the contentious position that Australia’s public schools are values free zones – a position which intensified in its repetition to the point of senior ministers claiming that the ethos of public schools is actively antagonistic to and subversive of “good old Australian values” - just how was not clearly delineated.

This included a push within the party for the provision of an essentially “low church” Christian chaplain in every public school – from the stated position that the relevant values and ethics envisaged essentially and exclusively derive from basic Judeo-Christian writings and traditions: a fundamental position (also reflected in some established State-systemic practice) which is significantly contestable - and has been significantly contested, then and since.

The then PM sought to steer an advantageous course through the shoals by allocating a limited amount of cash to a limited number of schools for a maximum of three year “trial” – with a national evaluation then to be conducted. Unsurprisingly, given the extent of universal need for additional counselling and guidance resources, few schools declined the funded opportunity – except in NSW where a systemic decision was made not to participate.

And while this initiative was driven (both by that PM and also more recently by his successor of a different political persuasion) under the universal mantra of “choice” in terms of denomination of chaplain, inevitably this came down to the “one size” model provided by the Scripture Union or the Access Ministries under existing “preferred supplier” arrangements in the jurisdictions. There is reputedly one lone Buddhist ministering to well-being in one more adventurous school community...

What is further disturbing is the extent to which we have seen established open process overtaken by the interests of political expediency. With the promised neutral national review under way and well advanced, PM Rudd essentially pre-empted the outcome by announcing an extension of the existing arrangements beyond the determined “end date”.

Even more recently, during the election campaign, PM Gillard subverted the whole review process by announcing a further extension to 2014. At the same time, the Opposition basically dismissed any need for review, reverting to their original conviction that this program should continue in perpetuity.

Read more, and add your comment: http://www.acsso.org.au/2010/08/school-chaplaincy-program/

Rupert Macgregor is Executive Director of the Australian Council of State School Organisations (ACSSO)

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Chaplains provide an unacceptable risk:

Submission to the Consultation Process for the National School Chaplaincy Program

Australian Psychological Society, 1 July 2010

On a number of occasions since the establishment of the National Schools Chaplaincy Program (NSCP), the Australian Psychological Association (APS) has been contacted by members who are concerned about chaplains who have been employed in schools to provide mental health counselling to students. This has occurred either instead of or in replacement of school psychologists.

Although the APS is aware that school chaplains represent an alternative approach to student support in government schools in the way of spiritual and religious guidance, the APS believes that, when chaplains work outside of this role, the risks to both students and schools are immense and will ultimately result in significant costs both financial and human.

The recent announcement of another $165 million over three years towards the NSCP, in the absence of any reliable safeguards to limit the role of school chaplains, is unacceptable.

The main concerns of the APS include:

That the government is supporting a scheme which allows unregistered and unqualified school chaplains to work outside their boundaries as spiritual and religious personnel;
That there is clear evidence that school chaplains are engaging in duties for which they are not qualified;
That there is clear evidence that church organisations and ministries are supporting school chaplains' in their boundary violations;
That the NSCP promotes a combination of religious guidance and mental health service provision, which is in contrast to mainstream evidence-based service provision;
That the government is complicit in encouraging dangerous professional behaviour by funding school chaplains independently of other services carried out by professionals who are both qualified and registered.

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Prime Minister’s School Chaplaincy announcement misguided and pre-empts proper process

Angelo Gavrielatos, President, Australian Education Union, 9 August 2010

The AEU has described as misguided and wrong the decision by Labor to extend the school chaplaincy program.

AEU Federal President Angelo Gavrielatos said the program did not address the real needs of students.

“Apart from undermining the secular traditions of public schools, this announcement fails to acknowledge what our students really need - qualified school counsellors, psychologists and welfare workers who can meet their complex needs,” he said.

“The Labor party extended this misguided policy without even waiting for the outcome of a review of the chaplaincy program that it established.

“Once again the Labor Party has followed the Coalition in education rather than addressing the real needs of students.

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Letter to Victoria Principal's Association

A copy of this open letter of 9 August 2010, which has also been published online, was sent to the Editor of the “Digest” for information and publication:

[Name and address supplied]

I write to you to share an alarming development and ask for your support.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Gillard, as part of her election campaign, announced the renewal and expansion of a program referred to as "Chaplaincy". One of the prime rationales given for this program is that it has the support of school principals. This announcement comes immediately following a meeting that Gillard held with the Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) where she was told of the priority ACL placed on this especially in the contested state of QLD.

The Chaplaincy program is a priority of the ACL because it is the main source of funding for para church ministries that are aligned with its political agenda. In QLD for instance, the Commonwealth spent $33 million on Chaplains in state schools, most of these are employed by the "Scripture Union" organization (SU) and are present in 80% of the schools. In VIC Access Ministry has chaplains in 70% of the state schools.

Scripture Union is an evangelical organization drawn from the shallowest intellectual end of the Christian tradition. They emphasize a form of biblical literalism and scriptural authority that is unsophisticated and associated with anti scientific views. In its charter, SU clearly establishes its mission to convert people to their views.

This pattern has parallels in Victoria, and should concern anyone concerned with the health of an open and tolerant Australia, as in every religion, fundamentalists can and do crowd out the moderate and sensible representations of faith, especially when money is up for grabs.

Australia owes a great dept to religious toleration and secular ideas. The acceptance of Catholicism and avoidance of the conflict that characterized much of Ireland though the 19th century is but one example. This history of course is why the first Victorians chose to create a "secular" system of public education, following the liberal ideal of allowing families to attend to the religious formation of children up to individual families, and the school yard a neutral place expressly open to all faiths. It is on this tradition that Australia's free and pluralist society was built.

Today, Australia is home to evermore faiths and evermore ethnic backgrounds. Principals in many places face the awesome task of teaching children from all over the world under one roof with one curriculum. Their work is thankless, yet inspiring. They deserve better than to be trading cards for politicians seeking votes among the noisy, politically muscular and increasingly aggressive religious right. Our commitment to secularism has never been more important or more necessary. This is not the position of the ACL, who insist on using the state and the public schools, to implement their agenda. The education profession has always stood as a check of enlightenment and wisdom on these attempts.

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The National School Chaplaincy Program Is an Accident Waiting to Happen

Leslie Cannold, 15 August 2010

Around one in five young Australians suffers from mental illness. These include anxiety and depressive disorders, as well as complex conditions like anorexia and bulimia. Some 10 per cent of young Australians suffer abuse or neglect while one in five has a parent with poor mental health (21%) or a physical disability (19%).

Young people with mental health issues are at increased risk of dropping out of school, becoming homeless, or ending up in the justice system. They are five times as likely to abuse drugs or alcohol (and from there wind up having unsafe sex, drink-driving or street brawling) and more likely to self-harm and suicide.

Children's mental health services are inadequately funded. Much like adult mental health services, this is not because we lack the money, but have chosen to spend it on something else.

That something else is school chaplaincy. Last week the Gillard government pre-empted its own review and increased the program's funding by more than a third. The total cost to the taxpayer now stands at $437 million.

You might think a government with $437 million would have an eye to the pain and suffering caused when youth mental health problems go untreated. You might think that government would be duty-bound to provide evidence-based solutions by addressing the woeful shortage of qualified counsellors in schools (in NSW the one to every 1050 students is more than double the recommended ratio). After all, and quite literally, the lives of children are at stake.

You might think so, but you'd be wrong.

Dr Leslie Cannold is an ethicist, researcher, commentator and author

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Qualified counsellors are required for every NSW Public School

Helen Walton, President, NSW Federation of P & C Associations, Media Release, 19 August 2010

The Federation of Parents and Citizens’ Association is asking all political parties to explain their policies specific to the provision of a school counsellor in public schools to deal with the increasing mental health issues being experienced by students in NSW schools.

This question follows the report in the Sydney Morning Herald on August 16th 2010 that ‘about one in five young Australians suffers from mental illnesses. These include anxiety, depressive disorder, anorexia and bulimia. Some 10 percent of young Australians suffer abuse or neglect while one in five have a parent with poor mental health or a physical disability.‘

In addition, an Inquiry carried out by Tony Vinson some years ago, found that ‘Mental health and wellbeing issues are said to increase the risk of dropping out of school, becoming homeless or ending up in the justice system.’

‘A positive and proactive approach would protect a number of vulnerable students, and their families, as they struggle to cope with the diverse issues that affect them’ stated Helen Walton, P&C President. ‘The issue of mental health and its associated impact on the youth of today, has been a major focus for many community organizations but there needs to be a concerted effort by all political parties to support ongoing initiatives.’

Unfortunately, the current funding for the national School Chaplaincy program does not offer an alternative.

‘In NSW, these funds could be better utilized to employ additional trained school counsellors for our Public schools’ commented Ms Walton. ‘As a continuing priority for the Federation, we will reiterate our call to all political parties to address their stance on the provision of adequate and appropriate support for adolescent mental health programs.’

Read more: http://www.pandc.org.au/

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School Chaplains

Life Matters, ABC Radio, 26 August 2010

During the election campaign both major parties renewed their commitment to funding chaplains in schools.

On the campaign trail Julia Gillard announced that money would continue until 2014, with the program extended to rural and regional schools. This reversed Labor's previous position to review funding at the end of 2011.

Critics of the scheme say that troubled school students need qualified counsellors rather than school chaplains.

Richard Aedy discusses the issues with: Tim Mander, CEO Scripture Union Queensland; and Dr Monica Thielking, Psychologists in Schools Advisor, Australian Psychological Society.

Listen online: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/lifematters/stories/2010/2993319.htm

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SCIENCE EDUCATION

Maths, science 'all a bit too hard' for our students, teachers

Martina Simos, the Advertiser, 23 August 2010

HIGH school students perceive maths, science, engineering and technology subjects as too hard, boring and irrelevant, a study shows.

The Technology Industry Association surveyed 178 teachers last month to gather their opinions on issues they face in teaching science, technology, engineering and maths, otherwise known as STEM subjects. It found that the lack of qualified maths and science teachers contributes to students not connecting maths and science to potential and exciting careers.

Technology Industry Association chief executive Steve Adcock said past statistics show 40 per cent of teachers who teach maths and science are not qualified to teach the subjects, resulting in students not seeing them as "relevant". "One of the reasons that children don't continue with maths and science is that they don't see them as being relevant - (but) when you get to the stage of wanting to get into the technology field, they are absolutely relevant," Mr Adcock said.

One teacher's survey response states students are opting for easier subjects in Year 12. "They prefer to choose less academic subjects that are easier and award the same SACE (points)," the teacher states.

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Science education is important for all ages

Denis Goodrum, the Advertiser, 24 August 2010

IN the next month, the Australian Science Curriculum will be released. What is it? Will it improve science learning in our schools? Will it be another educational fad?

The curriculum outlines the important ideas we think all students should learn about science. It has taken two years to develop and has involved the most extensive consultative process seen in Australian education. Teachers, scientists, academics, bureaucrats, parents and members of the community have all had the opportunity to have their say on what is important. Thousands and thousands of people have discussed and contributed to what it should be. While some people will be disappointed that their particular views have not been included in the way initially intended, all voices have been heard.

There have been a number of major challenges in developing the curriculum. The first is the obvious one of creating a single curriculum - there are now eight throughout the country, each with its own history and culture. Second is the challenge of addressing the declining student interest in science. Third, there is the imperative to realistically determine the relevant and most important science ideas for our students, where science knowledge is changing and expanding at a phenomenal rate.

There are three major strands outlined in the document: science inquiry skills, science as a human endeavour and science understanding. All are of equal importance but some sub-strands and the concepts they contain may require varying learning times to achieve.

Emeritus Professor Denis Goodrum is from the Australian Academy of Science and project director of the educational resource Science by Doing.

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TOWARDS A NATIONAL CURRICULUM

The Australian Science Curriculum: A house or a heap of stones?

Sally Stephens, 20 August 2010

In 1908, Jules Henri Poincaré, French mathematician, theoretical physicist, and philosopher of science wrote that “Science is built up with facts, as a house is with stones. But a collection of facts is no more science than a heap of stones is a house.”

Now, a hundred or so years later, the Australian Government has just released a new National Science Curriculum and the major concern that is emerging is that it is just ‘a heap of stones’.

A National Curriculum is a big step for science education in Australia and it is essential that we get it right. There are many reasons why.

Australia is deservedly proud of the prosperity of its economy. Its vitality provides us with a high quality of living and a positive outlook for the future. To carry us into a technology-driven future, the country needs its skilled workers to be engaged in knowledge-intensive enterprises that result in innovative research and development.

But our capacity to accomplish this is under attack from the invasive effects of global competition and our shrinking pool of home-grown expertise, the latter due to a diminishing proportion of students both in secondary school and the post-compulsory years who are undertaking science-related studies (Tytler, 2007).

Given that Australia’s future prosperity relies heavily on the productivity and innovation of well-trained science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) personnel, it is of great concern that science education in Australia, as in other post-industrial countries, is in a state of crisis.

Dr Sally Stephens is Co-Director of Science at Brisbane Girls Grammar School

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Libs may alter history

Anna Patty, The Age, August 31, 2010

THE new national curriculum could be delayed under a possible Coalition government, which plans to review it and address ideological concerns about some history topics.

The Coalition's education policy broadly supports Labor's moves towards a nationally consistent curriculum, due to be introduced next year, but it accuses Labor of politicising the draft curriculum in history.

The policy is critical of the absence of references to the Magna Carta and the Westminster parliamentary system, which underpin Australia's legal and political systems. It also is critical of students being taught about the ''day-to-day activities of trade unions and the history of the Australian Labor Party''.

School teachers have previously complained that the history and English curriculums have been politicised by governments.

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TECHNICAL EDUCATION

Lost art of pulling it apart engineers an Aussie tech wreck

Clint Steele, Sydney Morning Herald, 26 August 2010

Australia's intelligence is dropping. Not the general intelligence, but a specialised type of intelligence that is essential for Australia's economic and general prosperity.

I have been witnessing this drop for years. It is a drop in the natural and intuitive comprehension of technical systems. For years it has been implicitly assumed by educators that engineering students have this comprehension. Even though this is really no longer the case, there has been no major change in the education (primary, secondary and tertiary) system to compensate.

To many of us, this might not seem like a major issue. However, without well-trained engineers (and other technologists), Australia won't be in a position to develop the new technologies that make it easier, faster and cheaper to do things. When it becomes easier to do anything (travelling through a city, making a product, building a house or sending information electronically, for example), it naturally becomes more affordable.

And those who know how to make it easier not only improve the wealth of society, but are soon in a financially better situation themselves. The value of engineering - and its effective education - to a country is obvious once you think about it. Nevertheless, because of the drop in the average comprehension of technical systems within our society and no effort to account for it, we cannot hope to produce the quality of engineers that we once did.

Clint Steele is a senior lecturer in engineering design at Swinburne University of Technology and the administrator of Ingeneers Network Australia.

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New Scholarship Opportunity

deadline extended to 15 September 2010

Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (AIQS) is offering five scholarships to students interested in a career in the fields of building, engineering and construction.

The Australian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (AIQS) is offering scholarships of $3,000 each for Year 12 students who qualify for and enter a Quantity Surveying, Construction Economics, Construction Management (Economics) or other appropriate course at an AIQS-accredited university in Australia.

The scholarships are worth a total value of $3,000. The monetary part of the scholarship is $2,000 and there are no restrictions on its use. The scholarship also includes professional text books and manuals which are required reading for QS courses, valued at $1,000. Additional to the monetary amount, the scholarship will include free Student Membership of the AIQS and promotion to the top of the QS cadetships vacancy list.

The Quantity Surveyor, also known as a Construction Economist, or Cost Manager, is one of a team of professional advisers to the construction industry.

As advisers they estimate and monitor construction costs, from the feasibility stage of a project through to the completion of the construction period. After construction they may be involved with tax depreciation schedules, replacement cost estimation for insurance purposes and, if necessary, mediation and arbitration.

2009 figures from the Australian Yearbook state that the construction industry generated $77 billion worth of revenue and contributes to 7% of the total GDP of Australia. Members of the AIQS work on most major projects in Australia and there are virtually unlimited opportunities worldwide for qualified Quantity Surveyors.

Entry information – and downloadable Application Form - is at: http://www.aiqs.com.au/site.php?id=32

The scholarship deadline has been extended to 15 September 2010 to ensure the maximum number of quality candidates can apply at this busy time in the academic year.

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TERTIARY EDUCATION

Students may pay for uni funding crisis 'time bomb'

Andrew Trounson, the Australian, 27 August 2010

A POLICY expert has warned of a time bomb ticking over education, with demand for places likely to lead to students being turned away.

Executive director of the Group of Eight research-intensive universities Michael Gallagher warned that students also faced being squeezed in with consequent deterioration of standards if funding were not increased.

He feared a minority government could find the sector hit by "policy paralysis".

The group estimates that by 2030, there could be 450,000 more students demanding tertiary education, the equivalent of about 24 more medium-sized universities. Of these, about nine would need to be in fast-growing Queensland.

But meeting that demand would blow out the federal government's annual bill by at least $6.2 billion to $14.2bn, Mr Gallagher said. This casts doubt over the financial sustainability of the bipartisan agenda to uncap the supply of government-funded undergraduate places from 2012.

Mr Gallagher suggested student HECS fees might have to rise.

"If students aren't to be turned away through a blowout in unmet demand, or if there isn't to be a blowout in student-staff ratios, then other sources of income will need to be tapped, students will need to share in meeting the additional costs and more cost-effective supply options will have to be encouraged.”.

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Universities have knowledge but lack wisdom

Heath Gilmore, Sydney Morning Herald, 26 August 2010

MODERN universities are neglecting the teaching of wisdom to the detriment of its students, says vice-chancellor Steven Schwartz. In his second annual lecture last night, the vice-chancellor of Macquarie University argued that worldwide the higher education sector was focused on teaching practical skills necessary for a career, with disastrous results.

The financial crisis, the parliamentary expenses scandal in Britain and the home insulation program were cited as evidence of educated leaders making choices lacking in wisdom.

Professor Schwartz said a fixation with money had led to the decline in teaching students how to think broadly."We once were about character building but now we are about money.” He said university courses had become more vocational with courses in golf-course management or hairdressing-salon management alongside the traditional subjects of law and pharmacy.

Professor Schwartz used the lecture to unveil a proposal to allow final year students at Macquarie to tie together the theoretical and practical sides of what they have learnt. One of these capstone courses will be called "Practical wisdom", which the vice-chancellor nominated himself to teach. All new students will also be required to study both science and arts to broaden their education.

Dom Thurbon, a panellist for the lecture, said the premise forwarded by the vice-chancellor was an attractive but dangerous generalisation. He said the wisdom gained by a student depended on several factors such as degree choice and exposure to certain teachers.

Prior to his lecture “Wise Up: Restoring Wisdom to Universities” on 25 August 2010, Professor Steven Schwartz spoke on this topic on ABC Radio’s Life Matters program – you can listen to this online at: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/lifematters/stories/2010/2992099.htm - plus response comments...

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RURAL & REMOTE EDUCATION

Launch of Newsletter of Sidney Myer Chair of Rural Education & Communities:

“Vibrant productive rural communities are integral to the long-term sustainability of Australia”

Professor John Halsey, 30 August 2010

In 2009, as part of the Sidney Myer Fund and Myer Foundation Commemorative Grants Program, and after a competitive selection process, Flinders University was awarded $1 million over 5 years to establish the Sidney Myer Chair of Rural Education and Communities. Flinders University also contributes substantial funding towards the work of the Chair.

As the Vice Chancellor said when acknowledging the Sidney Myer grant, “… the university-philanthropy partnership is an ideal model for the establishment of a program to address inequalities in educational opportunities for rural and remotely located young Australians”.

The Chair has a mandate to develop new directions in rural research, teaching, community engagement and policy development. It is located in the School of Education. Each element of the Chair’s mandate is framed by its vision statement: vibrant productive rural communities are integral to the long-term sustainability of Australia.

Last year I was invited to deliver the 2009 Elford lecture. It is held annually to honour the distinguished contributions the late Dr Ken Elford made during his academic career. I called my lecture “Moving out of the Rain-Shadow: Rural Australia and Australia’s Future”. In the lecture I posed a question: given the growing pressures being placed on our country and our planet, how can we as a nation prepare and engage optimistically with and about the future? There are two critically important and closely related answers to the question seen through the lens of rural communities and rural education.

Firstly, people who live and work in rural and remote Australia must have access to high quality, relevant and affordable education, training and care at all ages and stages of life.

Secondly, it is essential that people who live and work in urban contexts and provide policy advice to governments, and design and manage a myriad of programs intended to benefit country people and communities, deeply understand rural.

Subscribe to the newsletter by email: mailto:marja.vanbreda@flinders.edu.au

Read the 2009 Elford Lecture: http://www.flinders.edu.au/shadomx/apps/fms/fmsdownload.cfm?file_uuid=2DB7B6E8-B590-9FCD-FB1E-21F489640C86&siteName=ehlt

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EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP

Networking for Learning: a leadership learning tool to support school collaboration

Jenny Lewis, CEO, Australian Council for Educational Leaders (ACEL)

“Networking for Learning” is an interactive tool (a CD-ROM, with supporting materials) designed to simulate experiences you go through and the people you work with as you develop learning networks and other professional learning communities. Anchored in research, it draws on and extends ideas from an earlier simulation about educational change that is a popular professional development tool globally. Its main aim is to deepen your own learning and understanding about successful networks for learning and teaching and within-school capacity building by:

raising and promoting understanding of critical issues involved in change and in developing sustainable learning networks and deriving benefit from them;
facilitating reflection on these issues in the context of developing your own learning networks and building your schools’ professional learning communities;
provoking dialogue and problem-solving among colleagues that informs network planning, initiation, development and sustainability;
promoting collaborative learning; and
helping you consider the extent to which your networks and schools are focused on learning and what approaches at different points in time are likely to have the best chance of success.

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“Principal leadership, national responsibilities and successful school outcomes”

Monika Tornsen, Curriculum Leadership Journal 27 August 2010 (article originally published in International Studies in Educational Administration 2009)

Swedish education policy requires that schools produce both good academic and social outcomes. A questionnaire was used to examine teachers' perspectives about to what degree their principals were taking responsibility for meeting these outcomes.

The participants were teachers in 24 schools in Sweden that were deemed to be producing good academic and social outcomes, or producing good outcomes in neither or only one area. The questionnaire examined 16 objectives and obligations.

Overall, the teachers felt that their principals were taking a high degree of responsibility for school outcomes. They saw their principals as taking responsibility for setting their school's direction in meeting national objectives and for school development plans, but perceived that there was less emphasis on follow-ups and evaluations.

The principals took on a high degree of responsibility for social objectives, perhaps due to recent policy emphases, but that they paid less attention to academic objectives, perhaps seeing these as belonging to the 'teacher domain'.

However, there were notable differences between the schools demonstrating good academic and social outcomes, and those that demonstrated achievement in only one or in neither outcome area.

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AROUND THE STATES & TERRITORIES

NSW: NSW government cuts teacher services to save money

Georgia Phillips, The Hub Campaign for Quality School Libraries, Media Release, 27 August 2010

In yet another attempt to bring its financial house in order, the NSW government has ordered a review of services, including those to schools and school libraries. The proposed restructuring to save on duplication will instead eliminate some vital services entirely.

In the past, NSW School Library Services had 10 education officers, 4 librarians and 8 support staff. Both Liberal and Labor governments terminated many such central support services, including regional consultancies.

The School Libraries and Information Literacy Unit which remained had a manager and review coordinator, journal editor, 3 librarians and 2 technicians. Its journal, SCAN, remains the only state teacher curriculum support journal. Its contribution to the national schools cataloguing database is the largest, along with Western Australia.

“In an attempt to save some 7% in costs, half of these positions will be lost,” says Georgia Phillips, co-founder of the Hub: Campaign for Quality School Libraries in Australia. “Not of ‘duplicate services,’ for there is no other body providing advisory services to schools concerning their libraries or reviewing teaching resources. No other body runs professional development targeting teacher librarians and school libraries. No other body advises the NSW DET on library and resource policy.”

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NSW: Minister Firth ignores Hurstville parents

John Kaye MP, Media release: 28 August 2010

NSW Education Minister Verity Firth is looking the other way while her department pulls apart a highly successful public school in Sydney's south.

"Aided and abetted by local ALP member Cherie Burton, the Department has wilfully ignored parents at Hurstville Public and is pushing ahead with a proposal that will undermine the future of the highly successful primary school. Neither Cherie Burton nor Verity Firth are listening to the understandable fears that Hurstville Public School parents hold for their vulnerable year 5 and 6 students being dumped into an all-boys high school.

"Parents and the local Teachers Association have good reasons to reject a proposal that would cut the primary school off from its year 5 and 6 classes, deny leadership opportunities to those students and send them to an intimidating male-dominated environment.

"The Department, the Minister and Cherie Burton have ignored the opportunities to build new classrooms on a car park at Hurstville Public.

They are riding roughshod over the parents and treating the school community with contempt.

Read more: http://www.johnkaye.org.au

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NSW: Nine-year-olds don't belong in high school, say parents

Anna Patty, Sydney Morning Herald, 28 August 2010

ANGRY parents have protested outside a Hurstville primary school opposing plans to ''cut the school in half'' by transferring students from years 5 and 6 to a boys' high school.

The P&C spokesman, Jason Yeo, said about 50 parents gathered outside Hurstville Public School yesterday to protest against the plan, under which girls as young as nine would be on the same site as teenage boys.

The MP for Kogarah, Cherie Burton, wrote to parents of children at the school, defending the state government's decision to transfer years 5 and 6 from Hurstville primary to Hurstville Boys' High as part of a $14 million plan to refurbish both schools. The move is also believed to be designed to help bolster declining enrolments at the high school campus for boys in years 7 to 10.

Mr. Yeo said parents would not attend a town hall meeting Ms Burton had called for September 8 unless the government was open to ideas other than the one it had on the drawing board. ''Parents don't want our school split in half,'' Mr. Yeo said. ‘The P&C has received professional advice indicating that the cost for a 10-classroom building on the primary school site would be about $5 million.''

Parents dispute government claims that there is not enough room on the existing site to accommodate enrolment growth. ''We have had some architectural advice which suggests there is room,'' said Mr. Yeo, whose daughter attends the school. He said of 516 people in the school community surveyed, more than 89 per cent had rejected the moving plan.

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NT: Darwin teen takes top public speaking honours in Plain English Speaking Awards for 2010

ABC News Darwin, August 27, 2010

A Darwin High School student has won a prestigious national public speaking award and a chance to represent Australia at an event in the United Kingdom.

Darcy Stanford, 17, beat finalists from around Australia to take out the Plain English Speaking Award (PESA) with a speech about crime and punishment.

Mr. Stanford says it is the second time a student from Darwin High has won the award in its 33-year history.

"It's been 20 years and I think it's about time. The Territory has some great speakers, as I saw at the state finals," he said. "The girl who was runner-up to me was also an amazing orator. It's good to see we've got our name on the trophy again."

Mr. Stanford is now being sponsored to represent Australia at a public speaking competition in England next year. "People from all the countries of the world come together and present speeches and try and achieve the next level of accolade," he said.

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/08/27/2994872.htm?site=darwin&section=news

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NT: School attendance in remote areas takes a dive

Louisa Rebgetz, ABC News, 30 August 2010

New figures show little progress is being made in efforts to close the gap in Indigenous education in remote Northern Territory communities. Recent figures from the Northern Territory Education Department show there has been little improvement in attendance rates at the end of first semester this year.

In Lajamanu, enrolments have dropped by a quarter and attendance stands at 37 per cent. Two years ago, attendance there was at 60 per cent.

Some schools saw a spike in attendance figures last year, but they have since dropped off. This has happened at Finke School in Central Australia where attendance dropped from 87 per cent to 58 per cent.

Maningrida School recorded a 41 per cent attendance rate, about the same figure for June 2008.

Kalkaringi school has seen some improvement, increasing by 10 percentage points in the past year. In Milingimbi, school attendance jumped to more than 80 per cent last year, but has since dropped off to 61 per cent. At Ngukurr, school attendance rates are lower than they were two years ago. The small school of Mamaruni on Crocker Island jumped from 58 to 75 per cent.

The department says the figures include absences due to cultural events and illness.

The Australian Education Union's Territory president Rod Smith says whoever forms the next federal government must devise a clear plan to improve Indigenous attendance. "I classify this present generation as the lost generation," he said. "They are just marking time. They are not learning any skills, they are not getting an education."

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QLD: Indigenous education centre gets more funding

Niki Lyons, ABC News, 25 August 2010

An education centre on Palm Island, off Townsville, has been granted $125,000 of extra funding from the Queensland Government to help fund educational programs.

The State Government says the Bwgcolman Indigenous Knowledge Centre, which opened in June, is playing a vital role in teaching children literacy skills.

Townsville Labor MP Mandy Johnstone says the centre is already proving to be a success in just the few months it has been operating. "This money is intended ... to provide for some new programs to be delivered through the education centre," she said.

"[It] will provide a creative learning environment for kids to learn literacy skills, to access the computers ... and to learn in a fun way."

Ms Johnstone says the centre combines a library with a range of activities and training about Aboriginal culture and history. "It's catering for all parts of the community where people can go and borrow books," she said.

"This money is particularly targeted at the younger generation and the children developing programs, so that the kids can learn those all important literacy and computer skills."

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/08/25/2992921.htm

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QLD: Parents have donated more than $15 million to keep state schools alive

Carly Hennessy, Sunday Mail, 29 August 2010

PARENTS have donated more than $15 million to state school coffers in voluntary contributions.

Right to Information documents reveal generous parents have been propping up school budgets across the state. Townsville's Kirwan State High School topped the list with $285,385, just in front of Pine Rivers State High School ($222,396), north of Brisbane, for 2009-2010.

Each year parents are requested to hand over as much as they can afford to keep schools running. The money goes towards funding classroom resources and elective subjects.

Department of Education and Training acting director-general Richard Eden said the contributions were purely voluntary.

It has been a long-held criticism that the contributions are unfair in a state-funded institution and that families were strongly encouraged to make the contribution. But Dr Eden said no student should be disadvantaged if their family was experiencing financial hardship.

"Principals have the power to waive or reduce fees, or put payment plans in place,'' he said. "Other forms of money collected by schools include trade income, such as money gained by hiring out school facilities such as the hall.

"This money goes straight back into the school.''

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QLD: Indigenous ear disease rate still high

Stephanie Fitzpatrick, ABC News, 30 August 2010

A Queensland Health worker says there are still high rates of middle-ear disease in Indigenous children in the state's remote communities.

The State Government's Deadly Ears program involves doctors and surgeons travelling to nine Indigenous communities to help children with the chronic illness.

It is hoping to extend the scheme into Normanton in Queensland's Gulf country.

Program director Matthew Brown says it has already treated more than 2,000 children. "[In] some communities, because these rates are so high, it's become a part of the health landscape that mum and dad had hearing problems so my child has hearing problems," he said. "[That is] not acceptable and there are plenty of things that can be done."

Mr Brown says the scheme is also trying to help teachers in these remote communities learn how to better interact with children with hearing problems.

"What we were seeing was the teachers really didn't have a thorough understanding of hearing loss in communities and how to deal with it," he said. "Six months later we'd come back into contact with them and they'd say 'my kids aren't turning up - I was so passionate about this job, I don't think I'm a very good teacher because my kids aren't turning up to class'.

"The reason for that is not their problem - it's the fact that the kids can't hear."

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SA: 10-year teaching rule to go under shake-up

ABC News, 27 August 2010

Teachers will not be forced to move schools every 10 years under a planned shake-up of the SA public school recruitment system. Under the changes, contract teachers will have more opportunity for permanent employment and principals will have authority to recruit the best teachers for their schools.

Education Minister Jay Weatherill says it will ensure the best teachers are kept in the system and more young people are attracted to the profession.

"We know that a number of them are coming in to the teaching profession but having to stay on contracts for term after term and year after year," he said. "So we want to convert them to permanent teachers and attract many more because we know that there's going to be a lot of retirements over the coming years."

Mr. Weatherill says principals will be able to direct their concerns or suggestions to him on a hotline to be tried from October.

SA Secondary Principals Association president Jim Davies says the changes will mean a better education for students. "We all want the best people in our schools," he said. "Setting up processes that require a robust selection process, a robust recruitment process to get the best people in jobs they choose to be in, makes a lot of sense."

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SA: Education reforms to better support children and teachers

Hon Jay Weatherill MP, SA Minister for Education, 30 August 2010

Principals in all public schools will have more authority to recruit the staff that best suits their schools’ needs under State Government reforms to refresh and revitalise public schools.

Teachers will no longer be forced to move schools every 10 years and contract teachers will be given more opportunities for permanent employment as part of the changes to be implemented following a review of teacher recruitment.

Education Minister Jay Weatherill today will present the first of a series of policy direction discussion papers to the Australian College of Educators and Australian Council of Educational Leaders breakfast in Adelaide. The paper sets out a wide range of new directions in the relationship between the Department of Education and Children’s Services head office, schools and preschools.

Initiatives range from changes to recruitment procedures and cutting red tape imposed on schools and preschools to increasing the exchange of staff between schools and head office as well as exploring establishing a preschool and childcare centre at the DECS head office in Flinders Street.

“I have been listening to principals, preschool directors, teachers, governing councils, parents, students and employers and have heard their views about many challenges facing the education system,” Mr Weatherill said.

“We can all remember teachers who had an enormous impact on our lives and research clearly shows that the thing that makes most difference within a school is the quality of teaching. Our system must allow schools to choose the right teachers for them and allow more opportunities for enthusiastic young teachers to get a secure job.”

A series of policy direction discussion papers will be designed to engage school communities in discussions with public education system leaders to improve opportunities for children. A copy of the first in the occasional series will be made available at http://www.decs.sa.gov.au

Read entire release: http://www.ministers.sa.gov.au/images/stories/mediareleasesAUG10/policypaper.pdf

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TAS: Tasmania’s New Tomorrow

ABC Radio Podcast, 19 August 2010

Tasmania has one of the lowest school retention rates in the country and the Bartlett government wants to do something about it.

But their attempts to improve education completion in the form of a major reform of the senior schooling structures have led to debate, complaint, confusion and huge expense.

A few weeks ago the state's ambitious Tasmania Tomorrow reform package was effectively scrapped, leaving educational leaders, teachers, parents and students wondering where to next.

Listen online: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/edpod/stories/2010/2984460.htm

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TAS: Safe and secure schools

Hon Lin Thorp MP, Education Minister, 21 August 2010

A total of $6 million will be invested over four years to help schools combat bullying, including cyber bullying and to employ extra school psychologists, the Minister for Education and Skills, Lin Thorp said today. Opening the Tasmanian State School Parents and Friends Inc. annual conference, Making Safe Connections, today, Ms Thorp said cyber bullying was an issue the State Government took extremely seriously.

“Cyber bullying is recognised as a serious form of bullying in schools and sanctions are applied according to each school’s discipline policy,” Ms Thorp said. “The $6 million in funding will allow schools to tap into the best research on how to tackle bullying using national and international projects, programs and research and employ more school psychologists to support students.

“Such valuable resources include the National Safe School Communities Project, the Harassment and Violence in Schools project, and a national cyber bullying pilot developed and conducted by the Alannah and Madeline Foundation.

“The state-wide Safe and Supportive School Communities Framework will also be revised to provide guidelines to schools and to help them access relevant information and resources. Schools will work together to plan approaches to counter bullying and to monitor their programs so they can continually improve the safety of their learning environment.

Read entire release: http://www.media.tas.gov.au/release.php?id=30218

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VIC: Marysville principal slams 'callous' thieves

Thomas Hunter, the Age, 24 August 2010

The thieves who stole six new computers from Marysville's bushfire-ravaged primary school this morning have been branded "callous" and "low" by the school's principal, who says pupils have been unsettled by the robbery.

Robbers smashed a classroom window to break into the school - which reopened in May this year after being destroyed in the Black Saturday bushfires - around 5am this morning.

Principal Peri Dix said the computers, which were purchased with community-raised funds, had only been at Marysville Primary School for a week.

"I was called very early this morning by our security people informing me the school had been broken into," Ms Dix told The Age. "When I arrived I discovered that six brand-new PCs had been stolen. They broke a classroom window to get in, which is pretty distressing." Ms Dix said the school's alarms were triggered about 5am today. She said it looked like the thieves knew what they were after, with no other school property found to be missing. "They were what we call 'touchscreen, all-in-ones' ... they use them for all sorts of things - mathematics and reading games, a variety of things.” She said members of the school community were "shocked ... that someone could do such a low thing".

The robbery follows the theft of laptops, external hard drives used to back students' work, computers and photographic equipment from Strathewen Primary School in March this year. Also razed by the ferocious Black Saturday fires, Strathewen Primary School was robbed twice in matter of weeks, with police later charging a 29-year-old Broadmeadows man over the burglaries.

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VIC: Teachers call for more resources

West Australian, 30 August 2010 (AAP)

Victorian teachers want more resources to keep years 8 and 9 students on track by offering a broader curriculum.

Australian Education Union (AEU) state president Mary Bluett says years 8 and 9 are the difficult years for students, when they can become "disengaged with their education".

"We want to broaden the vocational subjects, the hands-on learning, but also run significant camp programs and involve them in community work," Ms Bluett told AAP. "If we engage them with the community, it gives them a sense of belonging and helps them stay well-grounded."

A survey undertaken by the union showed that health and education were the two most important issues for the community. The survey spoke to 400 people in April with 75 per cent regarding education and health as very important, with a further 23 per cent saying education was important to them.

"We are absolutely buoyed by the high support for the key issues that are at the centre of our claim and that's around students with behavioural or emotional issues, children with disabilities, and the need to provide more special settings and support."

Ms Bluett said the union also wanted a commitment from the state government to reduce class sizes over the next decade.

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WA: School terrorist project 'could have been educational'

ABC News, 25 August 2010

An expert has defended a school assignment which asked students to plan a terrorist attack that would inflict the most number of civilian casualties.

The project was part of the Year 10 society and environment course aimed at investigating modern international conflicts.

Chris Westinghouse is an Australian-based political and corporate communications consultant and a former government and defence adviser in South Africa. He says he has taken a keen interest in the debate.

"I lived through and was closely involved with the democratic [change] in South Africa. I witnessed acts of terror; I had to deal with them sometimes from a communications point of view," he said.

"It was always confronting, it was always terrifying, that's exactly what it was meant to be and people, most of the time, just don't know how to respond to acts of terror because they're never thought about it.

"But I think it's a good idea that we start educating ourselves, thinking more about these things, because they are on the horizon."

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REMINDERS

29 August-4 September - National Literacy & Numeracy Week - http://www.deewr.gov.au/Schooling/Programs/NationalLiteracyandNumeracyWeek/Pages/default.aspx

3-4 September - Future Directions in Literacy Conference - Sydney, NSW - http://sydney.edu.au/education_social_work/professional_learning/teachers/2010/future_directions_literacy.shtml

6 September - International Middle Years of Schooling Conference - Adelaide, SA - http://sapmea.asn.au/conventions/middleschool2010/

6 September - Learning from One Another - Canberra, ACT - http://www.acsa.edu.au/pages/page500.asp

6-8 September - London International Conference on Education - London, UK - http://www.liceducation.org/

8-10 September - Creative Innovation - Melbourne, VIC - http://www.ci2010.com.au/

15-17 September - SPERA Conference, University of Sunshine Coast, Queensland - http://www.spera.asn.au/articles.php?req=list&root_id=13&sub_id=65

22 September - Language and Culture and Social Connectedness in Our Diverse Landscape Symposium - Toowoomba, QLD - http://www.usq.edu.au/lcdl

27-28 September - ACEL Global Emerging Educational Leaders Summit - Sydney, NSW - http://www.acel.org.au/conference

27-30 September - National Australian Association for Environmental Education Conference - Canberra, ACT - https://www.conferenceco.com.au/aaee

27-30 September - Australian Mathematical Society 54th Meeting - Brisbane, QLD - http://www.smp.uq.edu.au/austms2010/

27 September-1 October - International Association of School Librarianship Conference - Brisbane QLD - http://www.iasl-online.org/events/conf/2010/

28 September - Australian Professional Teachers Association Conference - Sydney, NSW - http://www.apta.edu.au/component/docman/doc_view/36-aptaconference2010.html

29 September-1 October - Australian New Zealand Education Law Association Annual Conference - Sydney, NSW - http://www.anzela.com.au

29 September-1 October - Conference of the North American Association of Environmental Educators - Buffalo, NY, USA - http://www.naaee.org/conference

October - International School Library Month - http://www.iasl-online.org/events/islm/

3-5 October - International Conference on Distance Learning and Education - San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA - http://www.icdle.org/

12-15 October - Australian International Education Conference - Sydney, NSW - http://www.aiec.idp.com/home.aspx

12-15 October - EDGE 2010: e-Learning: The horizon and beyond - Toronto, Canada - http://www.mun.ca/edge2010/

14-16 October - Master Classes on Children’s Art, Creativity and Play - Singapore - mailto:eec@etonhouse.com.sg

17-23 October - Anti-Poverty Week 2010 - http://www.antipovertyweek.org.au

22 October - ACSSO National Conference - Adelaide, SA - http://www.acsso.org.au/natconf10/

4-6 November - International Conference on Human Rights Education - University of Western Sydney, NSW - http://www.humanrightseducationconference2010.com.au/

13 November - Hands on Literacy Conference - Singapore - http://www.handsonlit.com/

26-27 November - International Conference of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics in Education - Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD - http://stemconference.com.au/

2-5 December - Second Annual Asian Conference on Education - Osaka, Japan - http://ace.iafor.org/

11-12 March - Going Global 2011 - Hong Kong - http://www.britishcouncil.org/goingglobal-gg5-general-information.htm

19-23 July - 6th World Environmental Education Congress - Brisbane, Qld - http://www.weec2011.org/

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