The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) has created an open-access classroom observation tool based on research conducted for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's (DFAT) Teacher Development Multi-Year Study Series, which studied teaching practices in Timor-Leste, Vanuatu and Lao PDR (see…

Preparation for university study and integration into the workforce is the academic goal in the final years of secondary education. This preparedness can only be achieved through the motivation and involvement of students in secondary education programs which will lead to successful outcomes. "Engaging Adolescent Students in Contemporary…

According to the management perspective, educational practice is a technical process with predictable and guaranteed outcomes. This viewpoint is reflected in the New South Wales (Australia) Scott Report on educational reform. However, this approach must be challenged, and uncertainty and unpredictability in education must be acknowledged and…

A study of 58 Victoria University (Australia) students investigated factors in their learning experience that encouraged or discouraged academic involvement. Results suggest students experience involvement in qualitatively and quantitatively different ways that appear to be related to different approaches to learning and that interaction of…

Reports on a study of four Australian 11th-grade biology students that used stimulated recall to evaluate student thinking processes.The study confirmed the complexity of the teaching-learning process. (MD)

Michel Foucault's discourse theory and Pierre Bourdieu's critical sociology are used to reexamine early literacy training. The resulting model is used to describe educational discourse, particularly in a series of literacy events in an Australian first-grade classroom. Implications for pedagogy are discussed. (70 references) (Author/MSE)

This manual describes the theory behind the Learning Process Questionnaire (LPQ) used in Australia and defines what the subscale and scale scores mean. The LPQ is a 36-item self-report questionnaire that yields scores on three basic motives for learning and three learning strategies, and on the approaches to learning that are formed by these…

This manual describes the theory behind the Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ) and explains what the subscale and scale scores mean. The SPQ is a 42-item self-report questionnaire used in Australia to assess the extent to which a tertiary student at a college or university endorses different approaches to learning and the motives and strategies…

This introduction to second language learning is intended to provide language teachers with basic information on relevant principles and processes. After an introductory chapter, the second chapter looks at traditional beliefs about language learning, including those concerning transfer of first-language knowledge to the second language, the role…

This guide is intended to set a context for the development of library and information services in Australian schools. The focus reflects recent changes in Australian education, in particular the development of national curriculum statements. These changes emphasize the processes of learning and the consequent need for information and information…

This book is the result of the accumulated research of five researchers from the United States and Australia on a school in Coastal Australia. The research team shared a constructivist epistemology and interpreted the qualitative and quantitative data collected over a 10-week period in two classrooms from that perspective. Each chapter discusses…

A common thread in contemporary research in student learning refers to the ways in which students go about learning. A theory of learning is presented that accentuates the interaction between the person and the situation. Research evidence implies a form of meta-cognition called meta-learning, the awareness of students of their own learning…

Reports on a study of 323 Nigerian secondary students to determine what relationship exists between preferred and actual classroom environments and their approaches to learning science. Finds that Nigerian students prefer more teacher control, a less competitive atmosphere, and less emphasis on student friendships. (CFR)

The Australian term "fair dinkum" (meaning genuine, true, or real) in the title emphasizes the book's intention of providing thoughts and reflections on how to enhance the art and science of English teaching. Focusing on literacy, the book deals with action research or teaching theories that may suggest other strategies and further field…

This report of a study of 36 Australian families involved in distance education suggest ways to improve learning materials and cautions that more needs to be known about how children learn in isolation before new communication technologies can be used effectively. Researchers interviewed parents, pupils, and home tutors--mothers or governesses,…