In this issue:

• Preparing 21st Century Learners: The Case for School-Community Collaborations
• Student understanding of food and fibre origins
• Business potential lies untapped in schools
• Parents urged to develop maths in kids from birth
• ACER Update

Support from those beyond the school gates is an essential part of preparing learners for the twenty-first century, ACER Principal Research Fellow Dr Michele Lonsdale and ACER Senior Research Fellow Dr Michelle Anderson argue in the latest in a series of research-based, expert opinion articles.

The ACER Occasional Essays series aims to provide thought leadership that can create a positive impact on learners and their needs, on the learning profession and on places of learning, and fosters a learning society in which every learner experiences success and has an opportunity to reach their potential.

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Primary Industry plays a vital role in Australia’s economy and society. However, there is concern that the gap between rural and urban communities is growing, and that this may be contributing to a lack of understanding among our young people of where food and other basic necessities of life come from.

The Primary Industries Education Foundation contracted ACER to design and conduct a baseline survey of students and teachers to find out what they know about primary industries in Australia, focusing on where food and fibre products come from.

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A focus on education business management is key to improving student outcomes, according to the author of an ACER Press book launched in March.

In Above and Beyond the Bottom Line: The extraordinary evolution of the education business manager, Deakin University’s Professor Karen Starr argues ‘business’ can no longer be seen as a dirty word in education.

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Parents, grandparents and early childhood educators should use play time to help develop mathematical concepts in young children, advise the authors of a new book published by ACER.

In Young children learning mathematics: A guide for educators and families, Australian academics Robert Hunting, Judy Mousley and Bob Perry explore how adults can stimulate young children’s mathematical thinking from birth through to when they start school.

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LLEAP Celebrate & Learn Forum

The Leading Learning in Education and Philanthropy (LLEAP) project is helping to shed light on some important questions that have long plagued those looking to form partnerships between the education, philanthropic and non-profit sectors. Noted historian and governor of The Ian Potter Foundation, Professor Geoffrey Blainey (AC), Professor Brian Caldwell (Chair, LLEAP Advisory Group) and other key figures from philanthropy and education will discuss the big issues to emerge from year one of the project at the LLEAP Celebrate & Learn Forum from 11am to 1pm on Tuesday 24 April in the Victorian State Library's Experimedia room.

The LLEAP project is an initiative of the Australian Council for Educational Research’s Tender Bridge team in partnership with The Ian Potter Foundation and the Origin Foundation. For further information visit www.acer.edu.au/lleap. To reserve your place at the LLEAP Forum email Leanne Eames at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

NAB Schools First applications open

NAB Schools First enters its fourth year in 2012 with $3 million in funding available to 130 outstanding school-community partnerships across three award categories. This year there will be 55 Impact Awards, 65 Seed Funding Awards and 10 Student Awards. Applications for each of these awards are open now and close on 29 June. The winners will be announced in August.

NAB Schools First is a strong partnership between NAB, ACER and the Foundation for Young Australians. It is Australia’s largest corporate initiative of its kind and is open to all schools around the country. To date, 305 Australian schools have shared in over $15 million award money to support their school-community partnership. To find out more and to download application forms, awards criteria, guidelines, and Terms and Conditions visit www.schoolsfirst.edu.au

First national conference on Adult Language, Literacy and Numeracy Assessment

Registrations for ACER's inaugural National Adult English Language, Literacy and Numeracy Assessment Conference close soon. To be held in Melbourne on 4 May 2012, the conference will cover the main topics and research regarding the language, literacy and numeracy (LLN) skills of the Australian adult population from an industry and training perspective. Presentations will also cover practical issues such as identifying and assessing LLN skills and supporting learners and trainees in improving their LLN skills. Two half-day pre-conference workshops will address the 2011 Australian Core Skills Framework and item writing for adult literacy and numeracy assessments. Registrations close on Friday 24 April. For further information, including a list of speakers, please visit www.acer.edu.au/nallnac/

Research Conference 2012
School Improvement: What does the research tell us about effective strategies?

ACER’s annual research conference will take place at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour from 26-28 August 2012. Further information including registration details, the conference program and a list of speakers is available from www.acer.edu.au/research-conference. Enquiries may be directed to Margaret Taylor by phone to 03 9277 5403 or by email to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)