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News bulletins from the Australian Council for Educational Research published October 2010 3134 subscribers Subscribe Now In this issue: Lack of evidence hinders Indigenous strategies School influences on tertiary entrance scores Teacher certification requires balance Visualising VET Leadership ACER Update Lack of evidence hinders Indigenous strategies Our ability to know what works to improve Indigenous students’ attendance and retention levels is hindered by a lack of credible evidence, according to a new research paper. School attendance and retention of Indigenous Australian Students, the first Issues Paper produced for the Closing the Gap Clearinghouse, contends that evidence about attendance and retention strategies that work for Indigenous students is not strong. ACER researchers Dr Nola Purdie and Sarah Buckley co-authored the paper, which draws upon key national and international studies to highlight the issues in analysing Indigenous and non-Indigenous school attendance and retention. Continue reading » School influences on tertiary entrance scores Policies designed to improve student performance should focus on individual students in need of assistance rather than the schools they attend, argues a research paper published in the international journal School Effectiveness and School Improvement. Author and ACER Principal Research Fellow, Dr Gary Marks, says school-focused policies are unlikely to improve the performance of low-achieving students because most of the variation in student performance is within schools, rather than between schools. Continue reading » Teacher certification requires balance Finding the right balance between encouraging participation and recognising the best will be a key challenge to implementing an Australian teacher certification system, according to an international expert in teacher assessment. Dr Drew Gitomer, Director of the Understanding Teaching Quality Centre at the Educational Testing Service in the USA, this week presented a series of workshops for staff at the Australian Council for Education Research (ACER) on recent developments in teacher assessment. Speaking on day four of the five day workshop program, Dr Gitomer said there is a tension between encouraging participation at the ‘highly accomplished’ certification level and selecting appropriately high standards so that you are recognising the very best. Continue reading » Visualising VET Leadership The Australian Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector faces a leadership succession crisis and must implement strategies to attract, identify and develop a new generation of leaders, according to a new report. VET Leadership for the Future details the findings of a collaborative research study, conducted by ACER and the LH Martin Institute, to examine VET leadership. Report co-author, ACER Research Director Hamish Coates, said organisations and governments must make VET leadership an attractive proposition to a new generation of leaders as the current, older generation of leaders leaves the system. Continue reading » ACER Update *Staff in Australia's Schools* Survey – Final Chance to Participate The Staff in Australia’s Schools (SiAS) survey closes shortly. Schools and teachers are encouraged to take part if invited. This is an opportunity to provide staffing information and views direct to policymakers. ACER is conducting this major national survey on behalf of the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR). It covers: professional learning activities workload career pathways job satisfaction career intentions preparation for leadership roles staff shortages All invited schools and teachers should take part so their views are heard and high quality data collected. The survey is designed to be easy and quick to complete online. The data are confidential and no school or teacher will be identified. The project Advisory Committee includes government and non-government school employers, principals associations, teacher education institutions, teacher unions, and the ABS. The survey is supported by the Australian College of Educators. For further information see: www.acer.edu.au/sias CEET annual conference The annual conference of the Monash University-ACER Centre for the Economics of Education and Training (CEET) will take place at Ascot House, Ascot Vale, Melbourne on Friday 29 October. The theme of this year’s conference is Education and training for a more productive Australia. The conference program includes: Issues for the VET sector in the context of the National Workforce Development Strategy, Robin Shreeve, Skills Australia A changing labour market and the future of VET, Tom Karmel, NCVER VET in the next decade: options and opportunities, Virginia Simmons, Consultant and former TAFE CEO Market facilitation strategy, John Spasevski, DIIRD Investment in VET for a productive and inclusive society, Peter Noonan, The Allen Consulting Group Literacy, numeracy, employment and productivity, Gerald Burke, Monash University & Skills Australia Are school-leavers turning away from VET? Evidence from On Track, Phil McKenzie & Sheldon Rothman, ACER Low emission economy: employment and skills effects, Chandra Shah & Sue North, CEET Industry-level measures of productivity growth, Mike Long, CEET The effects of changed migration policy on assimilation of Australian skilled migrants, Weiping Kostenko, CEET Achieving productivity gains in education, Ben Jensen, Grattan Institute Registration details are available from the CEET website at http://www.education.monash.edu.au/centres/ceet/conferences/2010.html
Copyright © Australian Council for Educational Research 2013 All rights reserved. Except under the conditions described in the Copyright Act 1968 of Australia and subsequent amendments, no part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without written permission. Please address any requests to reproduce information to communications@acer.edu.au Subscribe Unsubscribe Australian Council for Educational Research Private Bag 55, Camberwell, Victoria Australia 3124 Tel: + 61 3 9277 5555 Fax: + 61 3 9277 5500 Web: www.acer.edu.au

News bulletins from the Australian Council for Educational Research published October 2010
3134 subscribers
Subscribe Now

In this issue:

Lack of evidence hinders Indigenous strategies

Our ability to know what works to improve Indigenous students’ attendance and retention levels is hindered by a lack of credible evidence, according to a new research paper.

School attendance and retention of Indigenous Australian Students, the first Issues Paper produced for the Closing the Gap Clearinghouse, contends that evidence about attendance and retention strategies that work for Indigenous students is not strong.

ACER researchers Dr Nola Purdie and Sarah Buckley co-authored the paper, which draws upon key national and international studies to highlight the issues in analysing Indigenous and non-Indigenous school attendance and retention.

School influences on tertiary entrance scores

Policies designed to improve student performance should focus on individual students in need of assistance rather than the schools they attend, argues a research paper published in the international journal School Effectiveness and School Improvement.

Author and ACER Principal Research Fellow, Dr Gary Marks, says school-focused policies are unlikely to improve the performance of low-achieving students because most of the variation in student performance is within schools, rather than between schools.

Teacher certification requires balance

Finding the right balance between encouraging participation and recognising the best will be a key challenge to implementing an Australian teacher certification system, according to an international expert in teacher assessment.

Dr Drew Gitomer, Director of the Understanding Teaching Quality Centre at the Educational Testing Service in the USA, this week presented a series of workshops for staff at the Australian Council for Education Research (ACER) on recent developments in teacher assessment.

Speaking on day four of the five day workshop program, Dr Gitomer said there is a tension between encouraging participation at the ‘highly accomplished’ certification level and selecting appropriately high standards so that you are recognising the very best.

Visualising VET Leadership

The Australian Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector faces a leadership succession crisis and must implement strategies to attract, identify and develop a new generation of leaders, according to a new report.

VET Leadership for the Future details the findings of a collaborative research study, conducted by ACER and the LH Martin Institute, to examine VET leadership.

Report co-author, ACER Research Director Hamish Coates, said organisations and governments must make VET leadership an attractive proposition to a new generation of leaders as the current, older generation of leaders leaves the system.

ACER Update

Staff in Australia's Schools Survey – Final Chance to Participate

The Staff in Australia’s Schools (SiAS) survey closes shortly.

Schools and teachers are encouraged to take part if invited. This is an opportunity to provide staffing information and views direct to policymakers.

ACER is conducting this major national survey on behalf of the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR). It covers:

professional learning activities
workload
career pathways
job satisfaction
career intentions
preparation for leadership roles
staff shortages

All invited schools and teachers should take part so their views are heard and high quality data collected.

The survey is designed to be easy and quick to complete online. The data are confidential and no school or teacher will be identified.

The project Advisory Committee includes government and non-government school employers, principals associations, teacher education institutions, teacher unions, and the ABS. The survey is supported by the Australian College of Educators.

For further information see: www.acer.edu.au/sias

CEET annual conference

The annual conference of the Monash University-ACER Centre for the Economics of Education and Training (CEET) will take place at Ascot House, Ascot Vale, Melbourne on Friday 29 October. The theme of this year’s conference is Education and training for a more productive Australia. The conference program includes:

Issues for the VET sector in the context of the National Workforce Development Strategy, Robin Shreeve, Skills Australia
A changing labour market and the future of VET, Tom Karmel, NCVER
VET in the next decade: options and opportunities, Virginia Simmons, Consultant and former TAFE CEO
Market facilitation strategy, John Spasevski, DIIRD
Investment in VET for a productive and inclusive society, Peter Noonan, The Allen Consulting Group
Literacy, numeracy, employment and productivity, Gerald Burke, Monash University & Skills Australia
Are school-leavers turning away from VET? Evidence from On Track, Phil McKenzie & Sheldon Rothman, ACER
Low emission economy: employment and skills effects, Chandra Shah & Sue North, CEET
Industry-level measures of productivity growth, Mike Long, CEET
The effects of changed migration policy on assimilation of Australian skilled migrants, Weiping Kostenko, CEET
Achieving productivity gains in education, Ben Jensen, Grattan Institute

Registration details are available from the CEET website at http://www.education.monash.edu.au/centres/ceet/conferences/2010.html

All rights reserved. Except under the conditions described in the Copyright Act 1968 of Australia and subsequent amendments, no part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without written permission. Please address any requests to reproduce information to communications@acer.edu.au

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Australian Council for Educational Research
Private Bag 55, Camberwell, Victoria Australia 3124
Tel: + 61 3 9277 5555
Fax: + 61 3 9277 5500
Web: www.acer.edu.au