Steve Georgakis

From old soccer to new football? Expert accounts of transformations on the world game in Australia post-Crawford Report

This article investigated and evaluated the changes which have occurred in Australian football since the publication of the Crawford Report in 2003. Prior to this report, it was widely perceived that football was the ‘sleeping giant’ of Australian professional sport despite its popularity at youth participant level. The Crawford Report made a range of recommendations and a new era was heralded when Football Federation Australia was established which set upon the task of adopting a number of Crawford’s recommendations. To investigate the impact of the Crawford Report on the current status of Australian football, a qualitative methodology was adopted. Purposive sampling was adopted to give voice to senior football figures who were involved in the sport in both the pre- and post-Crawford Report periods and a total of 15 semi-structured interviews were conducted. A number of significant themes emerged from the research. All participants agreed that Australian football’s appeal has been broadened. However, the interviews also reported that the perception of football as a minor code and always relegated to the ethnic margins was a ‘myth’. Also, the participants raised the issue of whether the Crawford Report was implemented to its fullest degree. They were passionate about the idea that if all recommendations were implemented, the sport might currently be in a much stronger position.

Meeting the challenges of electrical engineering service courses

Abstract While there has been a proliferation of research published on various engineering teaching and learning issues, there is no research undertaken to deal with issues surrounding the teaching of “service courses”. This is surprising when one considers the unique challenges and predicaments faced by engineering staff and students involved in these courses. Anecdotally it would seem their existence is problematic. In this paper we outline pedagogical reform of an electrical engineering service course undertaken at the University of Sydney. This particular service course is comprised of students not only enrolled in electrical engineering but also students mandated to learn a substantial syllabus of engineering principles from other programs and degrees. A combination of routine University of Sydney student evaluations, focus-group interviews and curriculum higher education theory were used to inform pedagogical reform. The reform centred on three main interventions: (i) introduction of formative assessment; (ii) an alignment of outcomes, assessment and curriculum, and (iii) modularisation of the curriculum into three blocks. An evaluation of the service course using routine student evaluations, customised course evaluation questionnaires, and assessment of students’ approaches to learning using Biggs’ Study Processes Questionnaire for assessing students’ deep and surface approaches to learning was conducted. The former confirmed improved levels of student satisfaction and the latter was used to verify that the reforms were associated with deeper learning approaches. The findings and discussion are applicable to other educators facing similar challenges in delivering service courses and also address challenges found more generally across engineering education.

The Outdoor Classroom: School Camping as Education in NSW 1890-1960s.

At all levels of education in New South Wales outdoor experiences and outdoor education are a prominent part of the curriculum. This emphasis on the outdoors begins early. Outdoor activities are an important part of most primary schools whether they are public or private. Likewise at secondary level and at university outdoor education is still an important part of many students’ life. Indeed interested students at university can study outdoor education as a discipline in its own right and continue this study up to doctorate level. Outdoor education programs at university are well-subscribed attracting students from fields such as education and health as well as those that specialise in this field. Outdoor education has a wide appeal and will attract students willing to pay fees including those from overseas. Although outdoor education has a long history in New South Wales schools as a form of education outside the classroom there is very little literature on its history. While the history of New South Wales school sport (Collins, Aitken & Cork, 1990) and physical education (Kirk, 1998) has been well documented there has been comparatively little research conducted on the history of Australian outdoor education (Brookes, 2002; Pickett & Polley 2001; Lugg & Martin, 2001; Neill, 2001; Neill & Gray, 2001). This article will start the process of developing a better understanding of this history by examining the development of school camping in NSW from its first appearance in 1890 until the 1960s when the term outdoor education was adopted to emphasise its educational value. In doing so this paper reflects on how the practice and purpose of outdoor education has been shaped by changing social environments, and its development is underpinned by a faith espoused by various educational authorities such as the NSW Department of Education in the positive social and moral learning that is fostered by experiences in the outdoors.