In this issue:

• Australian Certificate of Education
• New report challenges crisis accounts of youth labour market
• ACER UPDATE
• Learning from failure

A single Australian Certificate of Education (ACE) to eventually replace the current curriculum and assessment arrangements in the final years of secondary school across Australia is the main recommendation of a new ACER report commissioned by the Federal Government. The report, Australian Certificate of Education: Exploring a way forward was released by Federal Education Minister Julie Bishop on 5 May.

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“Crisis” accounts of the youth labour market are not supported by a new ACER report released on 18 May. The report also disputes claims that young people who are not fully engaged in full-time work or study are “at risk” of an unsuccessful school-to-work transition. While some young people are experiencing severe difficulties in the transition from school to full-time work, this group probably comprises less than 10 per cent of non-university bound school leavers.

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Principal for a Day

ACER’s Australian Principals Centre has taken on the management of the Principal for a Day program, where leaders from corporate, political and community life have the opportunity to learn about what it takes to run a government school.

The program promotes productive communication between schools, business, industry and the wider community. After the school visits, forums are held so the business and community leaders and the principals can discuss their experiences and ideas for continuing relationships. The program began in Victoria in 2001, before expanding into NSW, the ACT and Queensland. Further information is available at http://www.acer.edu.au/leadership/principal-for-a-day

 

Victorian Global Education Project

ACER has been commissioned to extend its 2003-2005 evaluation of the Victorian Global Education Project for the Geography Teachers’ Association of Victoria.

ACER will evaluate the effectiveness of professional development sessions offered to pre-service teacher education students and to teachers in schools. The major focus of this next phase will be on evidence of the impact of the project activities on teaching practices. A report is due in January 2007.  The GEP is funded by the Australian Government AusAID Programme.

 

CEET Seminar

The Monash University-ACER Centre for the Economics of Education and Training (CEET) will be conducting a seminar entitled Plugging the skills gap - Approaches to career development in the British healthcare system, in Melbourne on 1 June. The seminar will be presented by Dr Paula Hyde and Dr Anne McBride of the University of Manchester. It will be held at the Department of Human Services Conference Centre, Lonsdale Street Melbourne from 11.00am-12.30pm on Thursday 1 June. The seminar, hosted by the Service and Workforce Planning Branch, Department of Human Services, is free-of-charge with all welcome.

Inquiries & RSVP: Ian Walker (9096 7523) or Amanda Crichton (Tel. 9905 9157)

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Failure is something that all students experience at some level, both in school and out of school writes ACER's chief executive Professor Geoff Masters in an article to be published in a forthcoming edition of Professional Educator.  In common with the rest of the human race, students sometimes fail to achieve what they set out to do, fail to communicate intentions, to solve problems and to complete tasks, raising the question: Why would any educator suggest that the term ‘failure’ be avoided?

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