EQ Australia

BITS & BYTES

What the research says
Family matters
Adolescent health
Practicle programs and tools

Increasing computer use in early childhood teacher education
www.citejournal.org/vol2/iss4/general/article1.cfm
This article in Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education (CITE) journal explores the question of what factors are related to the incorporation of computers into teaching, by teacher educators with average computer skills. The article asserts that teacher educators are important for technology infusion efforts and are an important influence on computer use in PK-12 education.

Towards whole school improvement
www.aare.edu.au/00pap/gro00303.htm
This paper by Susan Groundwater-Smith examines current conceptualisations of evidence-based practice that has its derivation in the medical context. It argues that education can lay claim to a broader and richer understanding of the term growing out of a tradition of action enquiry and practitioner research. The paper traces work undertaken across a three-year period in a large, independent girls’ school which has used school-based research as the fulcrum for teacher professional development leading to school improvement.

Helping Children Succeed in School
www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/succeed/
Children spend about 1,000 hours per year in school. So, helping children enjoy learning and being successful in school is an important goal for parents, other family members, and schools. It takes two major institutions-the home and the school-working together to successfully educate the child. Helping Children Succeed in School is a program written by University of Illinois Extension educators that gives successful strategies for parents and caregivers to help their children succeed in school.

The importance of school libraries
www.imls.gov/pubs/whitehouse0602/keithlance.htm
This paper by Keith Curry Lance, examines the role of school libraries and librarians in improving student test scores in the United States.

Matching the Rhetoric to Practice: IL and ICT literacy
www.jw.net.au/resources/JuneWall_IASL2002_paper.rtf
June Wall, President, Australian School Library Association (ASLA), looks at the dependence of the knowledge society on how well the learner or knowledge user accesses ICTs, knows how to use associated tools to build more knowledge, and disseminate this knowledge to others. See also her PowerPoint presentation at www.jw.net.au/resources/Rhetoric%20to%20practice.ppt

$2.3M boost for history in Australian schools
www.hyperhistory.org/
An innovative website which is partof a $2.3 million commitment by the Commonwealth Government to encourage and support the study of history in Australia’s primary and secondary schools has been launched. The National History Project website is a gateway to teaching and learning history in Australian schools. It contains a professional journal, a professional digest and network links that will help history teachers provide challenging and engaging information and activities for students.

Research in vocational education and training
www.avetra.org.au
Australia’s only national, independent association for research in vocational education and training, brings together research stakeholders and researchers from the TAFE, university, industry and government sectors at this site. Register for the online newsletter and remain ‘up to the minute’ with the latest from this sector.

Quality teacher program
www.qualityteaching.dest.gov.au/Content/SubSection_SNProjects.htm
The Commonwealth’s Quality Teacher Programme is made up of State and Territory professional development projects and a number of Strategic National Projects. Some of the Strategic National Projects are in progress for example, the ACER project on the links between teacher professional development and student outcomes. Some projects are just getting off the ground for example, the recently announced initiatives in boys’ education. Visit the website to see the latest about all the above projects.

Resilience in the classroom
www.naesp.org/comm/p1197b.htm (link no longer available)
Fostering resilience in the primary classroom doesn’t require teachers to add another piece to an already overflowing curriculum. Judging from the Project Resilience interviews, the school experiences that fostered resiliency did not take place in a special ‘resiliency corner’, in ‘resiliency time’ or as the result of specially designed ‘resiliency activities’. They occurred when teachers provided children ample opportunities to develop and practise behaviours associated with resilience during daily instruction. A number of relevant strategies are examined in the United States at the National Association of Elementary School Principals site.

Improving the educational outcomes for boys
www.decs.act.gov.au/publicat/pdf/Ed_Outcomes_Boys.pdf
This report by Dr Andrew J Martin to the ACT Department of Education, Youth and Family Services demonstrates that boys’ educational outcomes can be improved through a gender equity framework.

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Steps forward for families: research, practice and policy
www.aifs.org.au/institute/pubs/papers/papersmenu.html
The proceedings from the 8th Australian Institute of Family Studies Conference, held in Melbourne, 12-14 February 2003, are available online. Read about the many issues that confront Australian families and gain greater understanding of the school clientele by going to the ‘Conference Papers and Presentations’ page at the Australian Institute of Family Studies website.

Building resilience in the early years of school
homepages.picknowl.com.au/Julietta/3-4Class.htm (link no longer available)
Research on resilience suggests that resilience is developed through interactions of the child with the environment, and that the characteristics of those interactions and the environment have an important bearing on how children develop. Read on!

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Links to community
www.reachout.com.au
A terrific website for all students and staff to log onto for issues around discrimination, mental health support and adolescent health.

Bullying
www.kidshelp.com.au/INFO7/contents.htm
Telephone and online counselling is offered for children and young people in Australia through this site. The Kids Help Line has successfully raised awareness of bullying. Links for kids, parents and schools are all available at this site.

Racial and sexual discrimination
www.breaking-through.com
‘Breaking Through’ is a project that allows students, teachers and families to be able to express their feelings and experiences about racial and sexual discrimination as well as how they cope with bullying, myths, silence, intolerance, victimisation and stereotypes. These stories are then shared with others in an anonymous way. ‘Breaking Through’ is a whole-school approach to a safer, more tolerant school environment for our students. The website of the ‘Breaking Through’ project has links to other relevent sites.

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Cyberkidz
www.cyberkidz.co.nz/CYBERKIDZ/index.html
The Cyberkidz website, created with the support of the New Zealand government, is designed to help parents and teachers educate children about safety on the Internet. There are seven ‘safety points’ illustrated through the characters Webstar, Whizkers and Danger Claws. There are lesson plans to help teachers to embed the material in classroom instruction.

Dare to lead
www.apapdc.edu.au/2002/links/links_index.html
Reconciliation of the Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples of Australia is not a moment or a single event. It requires a larger change in attitudes and practices. Education, in its broadest sense, is the primary way this will be achieved. We all have responsibilities to help ensure this process is successful. For more information about the ‘Dare to Lead’ program, or to become a member online, visit this website of the Australian Principals Association Professional Development Council.

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