Susan Ledger

How accessible is IB schooling? Evidence from Australia

This study examines access to International Baccalaureate schools in Australia. It is important to examine whether, as a highly regarded form of rigorous academic education, IB programmes are available to a wide range of students. We examine the location of schools in Australia that offer one or more of the IB Primary Years Programme, Middle Years Programme or Diploma Programme, their fees and admissions policies, and what types of students they enrol. The findings show that most schools in Australia that offer any of these three IB programmes are located in affluent communities of large cities, are privately-funded, charge moderate to high fees, and enrol mostly students from privileged socioeconomic backgrounds.

Exploring the Australian teacher education ‘partnership’ policy landscape: Four case studies

Schools have long been integrally involved in initial teacher education particularly through the professional experience component. In recent decades however, there have been specific policy calls for greater involvement of schools in teacher preparation. These calls have come in two distinct waves of partnership policy reforms in Australia. The first began in earnest with the Australian Government announcement through the National Partnership Agreement on Improving Teacher Quality (Council of Australian Governments (COAG) National partnership agreement on improving teacher quality, 2008), which identified two priorities. Firstly, it championed a systemic response to strengthening linkages between schools and universities, and secondly, it recognised the professional learning opportunities of preservice teachers and in-service teachers working together as co-producers of knowledge. The second wave, influenced by the Melbourne Declaration (Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs MCEETYA. Melbourne declaration on educational goals for young Australians, 2008), resulted in the government response to the Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group (TEMAG) report (Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group (TEMAG). Action now: classroom ready teachers. Australian Government, Canberra, 2015) and the accompanying move to mandate school-university partnerships for the purpose of teacher education program accreditation. These national partnership priorities have been taken up in different ways across the various states and territories and by universities and schools. This chapter maps the policy reforms both nationally and at the various jurisdictional levels and uses four illustrative cases to analyse the opportunities and challenges for future partnerships and recommendations for teacher educators working to sustain such partnerships.

Immersion Programs in Australia: Exploring Four Models for Developing ‘Classroom-Ready’ Teachers

‘Classroom-ready’ graduate teachers require a sound understanding of the complex context that constitutes the ‘classroom’ in which they are expected to teach. The preservice teachers’ experiences within schools provide critical insights into these complexities and provide ongoing professional development towards their classroom readiness. It is in the school setting where theory learnt at university can inform and support preservice teachers to make sense of their observations of students’ learning, teachers’ teaching and their own teaching practice. We contend that within a traditional professional experience, the opportunities to link educational theory to teaching practice are usually incidental rather than purposeful, with preservice teachers often having limited opportunity to observe and experience the multifaceted nature of being a teacher. At both the state and national levels, governments are advocating for the improvement of preservice teachers’ school experiences and for universities to ensure the graduation of ‘classroom-ready’ teachers. This chapter examines how initial teacher education providers are enhancing preservice teachers’ teaching and learning experiences through innovative in-school immersion programs with the goal of producing more professionally prepared, ‘classroom-ready’ graduates. The chapter showcases four different models of school immersion programs from across Australia, outlining the purpose, structure and intended outcomes of each. A critique of these models highlighting tensions and vulnerabilities to implementation of immersion programs results in recommendations for initial teacher education providers who are seeking to support the immersion of preservice teachers as they transition into the teaching profession.

Screens and teens with migraines: visually sensitive learners in contemporary digital classrooms

Abstract Technology-rich school classrooms incorporate digital media in the form of computers and interactive whiteboards into the visual learning environment. Whilst evidence-based research shows use of technology improves academic outcomes for high school students in general, there are limited data available on the consequences of digital media use for high school students with migraine. This article highlights the historical issues with light-emitting media, the physical parameters that are changed by adoption of these digital media into the classroom and some of the adverse effects caused by visual light stimulation. The article concludes by calling for further social research to better understand adjustments needed by students with migraine in the digital media classroom, and the policies needed to support image parameter guidelines for schools. In this article, the term visual light sensitivity refers to any student’s abnormal sensitivity to optically sighted light leading to negative responses, including that of migraine.

Dua International School (DIS)

This is the second of the three case studies. It relates to Dua International School (DIS). To help facilitate the cross-case analysis presented in Chap. 8 the organizational structure replicates that used in Chap. 4.

Case Study One: Satu International School (SIS)

This is the first of three chapters that map the policy terrain in relation to the adoption, production and enactment of the IBPYP curriculum policy reform in three remote international schools in Indonesia. Pseudonyms are used for all case study sites and for participants within the cases. The chapter opens by providing a profile of the particular case study setting. It then outlines the findings from policy analysis at the site. These findings are grouped with reference to the four contexts of the ‘policy trajectory’ framework, namely, the contexts of influences, policy text production, practices, and outcomes.

The Research Approach

The study of the IBPYP curriculum policy process in remote international schools in Indonesia outlined in later chapters is, as already pointed out, located within the broad context of globalization and internationalization. Recognition of the gap between policy and practice and the potential interconnectivity of curriculum policy processes, internationalization and remote contexts presented in Chaps. 2 and 3 gave rise to the study. It also led to a decision that it should be undertaken using a qualitative research design. This chapter now details the conceptualization of the study and how the research aim and research questions were addressed. It explains the theoretical base that guided the study and outlines the processes involved in data collection and analysis.

Case Study Three: Tiga International School (TIS)

All staff members at Tiga International School (TIS) were participants in the study. The first section of this chapter provides a profile of TIS. The chapter then goes on to outline the findings from the policy analysis regarding the introduction of the IBPYP at this site. As with the previous two chapters, they are considered in terms of the four contexts of the ‘policy trajectory’ framework, namely, the contexts of influences, policy text production, practices, and outcomes.