J. MacCallum

Teachers' Journeys towards Critical Use of ICT.

Teachers have a central role in developing new learning models in schools. This paper describes a study that explored teachers’ confidence and competence in using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) as they participated in an ICT development project conducted by an Australian education system in 12 primary schools. The project aimed to develop ICT integrated teaching practices by providing in‐class equipment and teacher professional development in ICT use, curriculum development and teaching strategies. The study used qualitative data from teacher records of Professional Development and Action Learning to identify three of four stages proposed to describe teachers’ ICT learning. Teachers moved from gaining basic ICT skills, to conducting ICT‐focused lessons and eventually appropriate ICT integration. Teachers who progressed to the third stage were able to exploit additional learning opportunities and begin to make fundamental changes to their pedagogy, but needed more time to reach the final stage of challenging existing pedagogical structures.

Teacher Reasoning and Moral Judgement in the Context of Student Discipline Situations.

Abstract Twenty‐four high school teachers were interviewed about specific hypothetical discipline incidents in moral and social‐conventional domains, before and after attending an in‐service programme introducing a whole‐school approach to discipline. Their reasoning was found to be related to the teachers’ individual moral judgement levels (as assessed by the Defining Issues Test or DIT). The teachers in the high principled group (DIT‐%P score over 46) responded to the incidents with more perspective coordination, and provided more information in the form of domain‐appropriate rationales, than teachers in the low moral judgement group (DIT‐%P score below 38). The relationship was not constant across discipline incidents. The importance of teachers’ individual moral judgement levels in explaining variations in teachers’ reasoning about the teachers role in school discipline situations and teachers’ interpretations of educational methods are discussed [1, 2].

Australian perspectives: Community building through intergenerational exchange programs

This paper explores the concept of intergenerational exchange as a vehicle for community building in Australia. Drawing on document analysis, focus groups, and in-depth study of four intergenerational programs, the research examines the benefits and constraints of intergenerational exchange and the relationship between intergenerational programs and their potential to foster resilience, enhance social connection, and build individual and community capacity. Findings reveal that in intended and unanticipated ways, young and older Australians benefit from intergenerational exchange. The multidimensional nature of intergenerational exchange promotes broad social networks and a means for developing substantive relationships between the young and other community members.

A sociocultural approach to motivation: A long time coming but here at last

Until recently, motivation has been considered to be an individual phenomenon. Motivational theorists have accordingly conceptualised key constructs in individualistic terms and emphasised the individual origins and nature of motivation, although they have also long recognised that contextual or social factors have a significant influence on these individual processes. Recently this conceptualisation has been questioned as theorists have suggested, after Vygotsky, that motivation, like learning and thinking, might be social in nature. This idea was first suggested by Sivan (1986) more than twenty years ago but it received a major impetus with the publication of an article by Hickey (1997) eleven years later. Since that time interest in the social nature of motivation has grown as a small number of book chapters and journal articles have been published and conference papers have been presented on the topic. Although some motivational theorists remain sceptical (e.g. Winne, 2004) of this theoretical development, the inclusion of a section on sociocultural approaches to motivation in Perry, Turner, and Meyers (2006) chapter on classrooms as contexts for motivating learning in the 2nd edition of the Handbook of Educational Psychology suggests that this perspective is being seriously considered by motivational researchers. Similarly, the inclusion of a chapter (Walker, in press-b) on the sociocultural approach to motivation in the 3rd edition of the International Encyclopedia of Education indicates that this approach has achieved some recognition.

Mentoring and the Development of Resilience: An Australian Perspective

The purpose of this paper is to examine the connections between mentoring and resilience. Theory and research support the notion that a mentoring relationship between an adult and a young person can contribute to the development of resilience and socio-emotional well-being. Mentoring provides a context for young people to develop key protective factors, such as relationships with caring adults, networks with peers and others, and individual competencies. Evidence is provided from international research literature and a cross-case analysis of a range of Australian mentoring programs with young people in various school and community settings. Mentors ranged from senior citizens to adolescents working with younger peers. Programs focused on young people with a variety of characteristics, from those showing particular talent to those regarded as high-risk, as well as those from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Despite providing an opportunity for successful intervention and prevention, such programs do not offer a ‘quick fix’, and require careful consideration of a range of issues. Successful programs have mentors with caring qualities, provide opportunities for network development, and implement strategies for developing individual competencies according to individual needs and interests.

Getting personal about values: scaffolding student participation towards an inclusive classroom community

The development of an inclusive community is underpinned by values that support an appreciation of diversity. This paper is based on a larger research project, ‘student leadership in a primary classroom’, which developed different ways for students to interact with each other. The focus not only promoted full student participation in classroom activities but also benefited students such as Mary and Lesley, who had intellectual disabilities, because they were included too. Mary and Lesley attended an Educational Support Unit (ESU) in the morning and returned to their mainstream classroom in the afternoons. The teacher/researcher scaffolded collaborative values explicitly through the social practices of the daily social circle and the weekly class meeting, which provided authentic learning opportunities for students to discuss values. Students developed leadership skills based on inclusive values that were modelled by the teacher. Transcripts from video recordings of classroom activities, teacher observations, as well as student and parent interviews conducted throughout the year provided evidence that students also reflected on their personal values. As a result, Mary and Lesleys movement between their ESU class and the mainstream class each day was seamless because they were welcomed in both contexts and their participation was encouraged, appreciated and validated.

A model of motivational change in transition contexts

Student motivation is extremely complex and the model of motivational change developed points to the usefulness of examining a range of motivation constructs in conjunction with multiple views of change to elicit greater understanding of motivational change. The finding of inter-individual differences in change in some aspects of motivation and not others suggests that some facets of motivation may be more important in enhancing or limiting the motivation of particular groups of students. There are subtle differences in students’ motivation in different contexts pointing to the need for more in-depth research to elaborate the interrelationship of students’ goals and perceptions and the contexts in which they learn. Further, changes in students’ perceptions of the importance of different aspects of knowledge may be significant in understanding changes in student motivation, and in gender-related subject preferences in secondary school. The changes over the transition to secondary school suggest that schools must examine the differences in emphases that students attend to, but they also point to the need for motivation research to take account of more levels of context at the same time, from the broad policy of the school to curriculum issues within different subject areas and to the micro contexts of interrelationships among students and between teachers and students.

Creative arts outreach initiatives in schools: effects on university expectations and discussions about university with important socialisers

ABSTRACT For youth in disadvantaged schools, university expectations and participation are often limited by access to social and cultural capital that support expectations. This study investigated the utility of creative arts outreach initiatives (CAI) in supporting students’ university expectations and building cultural capital in homes, schools and neighbourhoods in the southwest corridor of Perth, Western Australia. Cultural capital was operationalised as discussions about university with parents, teachers and friends as important socialisers. The CAI provided task-based programs that connected students with industry professionals and university academics to access new social and cultural capital, develop skills that satisfied learning objectives and increase navigational capacity for higher education participation. Multi-group latent growth models were estimated for university expectations across 3 time points and university discussions with important socialisers at time 3 using a propensity-score matched sample comprising 176 students aged between 11 to 18 years from eight high schools (program group = 88, control group = 88, females = 64%). Results indicated stability in levels of university expectations for program participants and increased discussions about university with parents, teachers and friends. Findings support the inclusion of people-rich, co-curricular creative arts programs such as CAI in disadvantaged schools to build social and cultural capital that supports and potentially widens higher education participation in this region.

Taking care of youth mentoring relationships: red flags, repair, and respectful resolution

Abstract Mentoring is portrayed in the literature as benefiting young people, but ineffective or early termination of youth mentoring relationships can be detrimental. Researchers have not adequately explored issues surrounding the breakdown of youth mentoring relationships. Underpinned by a socio-ecological perspective, in this exploratory study we consider the various contexts within which these important relationships exist and identify early warning signs or red flags that a mentoring relationship is struggling. We interviewed mentees, mentors, and coordinators from four Western Australian youth mentoring programs about their experiences of mentoring relationships. Our findings suggest that red flags and repair strategies may be specific to particular programs, and that program coordinators play an important role in supporting relationships. Our research will help youth mentoring programs work toward early intervention strategies or appropriate and respectful termination of a relationship.

Matching expectations for successful university student volunteering

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the importance of expectation formation and matching for university student volunteers and their hosts. Design/methodology/approach This research involved a multi-stage data collection process including interviews with student volunteers, and university and host representatives from six Australian universities. The project team undertook an iterative process of coding and interpretation to identify themes and develop understanding of the phenomenon. Findings University student volunteering has the potential to fail to meet the expectations of at least one of the parties to the relationship when the expectations of the parties are not clearly articulated. Universities operating volunteer programmes have an important role in facilitating expectation formation and matching, minimising the chances of mismatched expectations. Research limitations/implications The study confirms the operation of a psychological contract for university student volunteers and organisations who host them which is consistent with other research in volunteering demonstrating the importance of matching expectations. Practical implications The paper identifies the importance of expectation formation and matching for hosts and students, and highlights the role of universities in facilitating matchmaking. Originality/value This paper contributes to the growing body of research on the role of the psychological contract in volunteering, in particular in university student volunteering and host organisations.