Promoting teacher professionalisation has become a key policy agenda in Australia and internationally. Professional learning is often invoked as a means to achieve this goal. In this paper, drawing on findings of a series of studies we conducted on the topic in the Early Childhood Education and Care sector, and guided by a range of theoretical…

This paper reports on implementing learning plans at an Australian university and their perceived use in supporting doctoral candidates' professional and academic development. The implementation of individualised learning plans for doctoral candidates was the outcome of university-wide discussions regarding coursework in the PhD. Based on a review…

This article reports on findings from a qualitative study in the English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS) context which explored teachers' experiences and their managers' perceptions of teacher participation in the Cambridge Assessment English/English Australia Action Research in ELICOS program. Despite previously reported…

This paper analyses two pedagogical case studies (PCS) from a multidisciplinary perspective to highlight the problems of theoretical knowledge in tertiary physical education teacher education (PETE) programmes, school-based physical education (PE) practice and continuous professional learning (CPL) in PE. We argue that a critical view of tertiary…

This symposium brings together multi-national assessments of the current state of and challenges facing postgraduate education in geography. Contributors from Europe, Australia, South Africa and the USA identify ways in which restructuring of educational systems and wider political contexts affect programmes within the field. While highlighting…

The current round of basic education curriculum reform in China is considered by many to be the most radical and wide-reaching. However, very little is known about education reform at the school level. Here we document and discuss some of the challenges and opportunities that the reform programme is providing for teachers and schools. We describe…

This paper reveals how the provision of teacher professional development is conceptualised within the Australian Government Quality Teacher Programme (AGQTP) policy text and its predecessors, and uses these texts to infer the nature of the production practices associated with the development of these policies. The paper argues that multiple…

Teachers have a central role in developing new learning models in schools. This paper describes a study that explored teachers' confidence and competence in using Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) as they participated in an ICT development project conducted by an Australian education system in 12 primary schools. The project aimed…

Australia's training programs for academic department heads are examined in relation to the tradition of academic staff development, the changing nature of department heads' responsibilities, and increased concerns about the effectiveness of institutional management. It is suggested that training programs be one element in a comprehensive…

A survey of Australian department heads in 61 institutions examined their most important tasks and responsibilities and perceptions of professional development opportunities; the results are compared with North American studies. Three alternative strategies for meeting professional development needs are suggested and evaluated. (Author/MSE)

Evolution of an Australian program to provide professional development for university faculty involved in graduate student supervision is described. The externally-funded program began with an action research project to study the collaborative relationship between supervisors and students. When a group process was found impractical, individual…

The Project for Enhancing Effective Learning (PEEL) is a well-established Australian example of teacher collaborative action research. The aim of the project, which began in a secondary school in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia) and later spread to other countries, is to improve the quality of students' classroom learning through practice in…

Describes the development and features of an innovative field experience program, in the form of an internship, for early childhood student teachers, as part of a four-year Bachelor of Education Degree at Australia's University of Newcastle. Discusses participants' perceptions of the internship as a professionalizing experience. (HTH)

If Australia's adult educators involved in adult literacy, language, and numeracy provision are to initiate significant changes in the inequalities existing in Australian society, they must examine a range of issues extending far beyond classroom walls. Much discussion about workplace communication in recent years has evolved from the growing…

These 15 papers cover a wide range of topics and perspectives on the work of Adult Literacy and Basic Education (ALBE) practitioners in Victoria, Australia, in the contemporary ideological and political context. A preface (John Wilson) and introduction (Delia Bradshaw) begin the anthology. The papers are as follows: "...A…