In this issue:

• Leaders exchange expertise through Principal for a Day
• Education reform requires increased resources
• Good education depends on shared values
• ACER honours Isabelle Adams
• ACER UPDATE

Improved partnerships between schools, businesses and the community are expected to be key outcomes of the Principal for a Day event held on 31 August.

This year’s program involved 84 “Principals for a Day” matched with school leaders in primary, secondary and special schools in metropolitan and regional Victoria. Honorary principals new to the program included Victorian Education Minister Bronwyn Pike, Victorian Treasurer John Lenders, his Federal counterpart Peter Costello and President of the Western Bulldogs Football Club David Smorgon. Repeat participants included ABC radio presenter Jon Faine, celebrity chef Gabriel Gate, Australian Television Foundation CEO Jenny Buckland, and ACER's chief executive Professor Geoff Masters.

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High expectations for the reform of school education can only be met if there is a dramatic increase in resources, according to former University of Melbourne Dean of Education Professor Brian Caldwell. Professor Caldwell called for leadership for radical transformation in schools education at the annual ACER research conference held in Melbourne last month.

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A shared moral purpose and a sense of community values are fundamental necessities for effective education, says Australian Catholic University academic Michael Bezzina. Professor Bezzina presented the findings of his study into the connection between moral purpose and shared leadership at the ACER annual conference in Melbourne in August.

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ACER has honoured Ms Isabelle Adams on being associated with the organisation for 21 years. Ms Adams, a member of the ACER Council and the founding chair of its Aboriginal Education Advisory Group, was honoured with a special presentation by the Board of ACER on 8 June.

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Gabrielle Matters appointed IAEA executive secretary

Professor Gabrielle Matters, Principal Research Fellow and General Manager of ACER's Brisbane office has been selected by the International Association for Educational Assessment (IAEA) as the organisation's next Executive Secretary. Her term begins at the next IAEA conference, in Baku, Azerbaijan, this month (September). Gabrielle has been linked with the association for about 15 years, first while with the Queensland Board of Studies and then through the Queensland Department of Education and the Arts, and has attended and presented at a number of annual conferences at different world venues.

The broad purpose of IAEA is to assist educational agencies in the development and appropriate application of educational assessment techniques to improve the quality of education. IAEA organises annual conferences on assessment themes of international significance and, in cooperation with UNESCO, IAEA organises round tables on the impact of assessment on education. For further information o the IAEA visit http://www.iaea.info/

AIM professional development workshops

ACER has been successful in its bid for the delivery of the professional development services for the Victorian AIM tests. This contract with the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) involves the delivery of 60 half day workshops and 10 full day workshops to between 1,000-1,500 teachers at locations across Victoria between mid October and Early December 2007. The project will be managed from ACER's Centre for Professional Learning.

Development of Indigenous mental health textbook

ACER has been commissioned by the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing to develop a textbook on culturally appropriate approaches to assessment and interventions for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional well being and mental health issues. The textbook is to be developed by clinicians, cultural and educational experts. Researchers from the Kulunga Research Network of the Telethon Institute of Child Health Research will assist with the project. The project is expected to completed in June 2008.