Tony Dowden

Relevant, Challenging, Integrative and Exploratory Curriculum Design: Perspectives from Theory and Practice for Middle Level Schooling in Australia.

Integrative curriculum design promises much for middle level teachers who wish to develop classroom programmes that will encourage early adolescents to actively engage in their learning (Beane 1990, 1997). Beane’s model is highly responsive to the educational and developmental needs of young people. In contrast, multidisciplinary curriculum design (Jacobs 1989) may result in significant but largely unrecognised drawbacks when it is implemented in the middle grades.This paper critically examines the theory of the integrative and the multidisciplinary models of curriculum integration with respect to middle level curriculum reform in Australian schools. It draws its data from a doctoral study (Dowden 2007) that traced a century of development of curriculum integration in the USA: from Dewey’s Laboratory School a century ago through to contemporary middle schooling.

Students' Perceptions of Written Feedback in Teacher Education: Ideally Feedback is a Continuing Two-Way Communication that Encourages Progress

A small but growing body of research has investigated students’ perceptions of written feedback in higher education but little attention has been brought to bear on students’ emotional responses to feedback. This paper investigates students’ perceptions of written feedback with particular emphasis on their emotional responses within a teacher education programme in a regional Australian university. Online questionnaires were used to gather qualitative data from cohorts of distance students and on-campus students. The study found that students’ emotions strongly mediated their perceptions of written feedback. The paper concludes that in order to accommodate students’ emotional responses, effective written feedback should be aligned with pedagogies which specifically include the development of rich dialogue within the teaching and learning context.

Locating curriculum integration within the historical context: Innovations in Aotearoa New Zealand state schools, 1920s‐1940s

Purpose – This study seeks to trace the development of curriculum integration and related curricula designs in state schools in Aotearoa/New Zealand (NZ) during the “New Education” era (1920s‐1940s).Design/methodology/approach – The mixed historical/theoretical analysis draws on primary and secondary data.Findings – The paper concludes that largely forgotten designs for curriculum integration developed in the 1920s‐1940s in NZ are similar in intent to the student‐centred “integrative” model of curriculum integration and may usefully inform the contemporary discourse in NZ concerning best practice on middle schooling for young adolescents (approximately ten to 14 years old).Research limitations/implications – The study provides an additional point of entry towards theorising and re‐evaluating the history of progressive education in NZ.Originality/value – This study provides historical/theoretical context for recent interest in curriculum integration in NZ, particularly in relation to middle schooling and t...

Investing in Australian Youth: Nurturing Values Integrated Through Action-Based Learning

Current societal trends are creating new opportunities for community organisations—including church groups and non-profit organisations—that specialise in the delivery of extracurricular services to young people. This chapter discusses the case of a non-profit community organisation in Queensland that uses ‘Values Integrated Through Action-based Learning’ (VITAL), underpinned by a Judeo-Christian worldview, to help young people develop robust personal values. In particular, the chapter conducts a comparative analysis of the approaches used by this organisation and the developmental characteristics of young adolescents. It discusses key implications for educating and working with youth that pertain to enhancing: Self-discipline, personal confidence, social skills and a lifelong love of learning. It concludes that savvy community organisations that commit to understanding and actively meeting youth needs in safe learning environments are well positioned to ‘make a difference’ to future generations of young people.

Learning and Loves Envisaged Through the Lens of James K. A. Smith: Reimagining Christian Education Today

This chapter introduces the reader to the notion of learning and loves in relation to Christian education. In particular, it draws from Smith’s (CHC Higher Education Research Symposium 2016a) keynote address at the 2016 research symposium ‘Learning and Loves: Reimagining Christian Education’ and sketches a range of contemporary perspectives on the nature and purpose of Christian education today. Critical to this discussion is the educator’s understanding of what it means to be human and Smith’s (CHC Higher Education Research Symposium 2016a) presupposition that ‘every pedagogy implicitly assumes an anthropology’. Given that Christian education has been shown to be concerned with the making of ‘whole’ persons (Holmes, The Idea of a Christian College 1987; Ream and Glanzer, The Idea of a Christian College: A Re-Examination for Today’s University 2013), holistic approaches that are both theoretically grounded and practically beneficial are critical to and for such a transformative endeavour. This discourse also introduces the content and organisation of the book Reimagining Christian Education: Cultivating Transformative Approaches, which focuses on some of the manifold facets, expressions and experiences of Christian education encountered in innovative contemporary research and practice today. The book is organised into five thematic sections and includes the introduction of both theoretical perspectives and pedagogical methods and tools, which are field-tested and practice-approved: (1) Conceptual Perspectives; (2) Pedagogical Implications; (3) Inclusive Education and Hospitality; (4) Trends in Learning, Business and Technology; (5) Promoting Reconciliation and Social Justice. By looking at Christian education through the lens of James K. A. Smith, this chapter offers fresh perspectives on (re)imagining education as the passionate pursuit of learning and teaching by lovers of God.