Capacity to teach the arts is a problem reported by many teachers in primary (elementary) school settings in Australia. This paper reports on research which explored how to build primary school teachers' capacity in arts-based pedagogy. It outlines the design and development of a co-mentoring program between arts mentor practitioners and…

This article explores how artist-researchers navigate the "uncertain" space between theory and practice in a new Doctor of Creative Arts (DCA) program in an Australian regional university. The trickster is deployed as a metaphorical device to provide insights into how the first DCA's candidates, their supervisors, and the university's…

This article explores the development and implementation of a new Doctor of Creative Arts program in a regional university. The experiences of key leadership staff and Doctor of Creative Arts candidates enrolled in the foundation year of the program are contextualised within the current landscape of practice-based arts research in the higher…

Taking an interpretive approach to evidence-based policy, this article illustrates the rhetorical and situated uses of evidence in two case studies of local cultural policy. Broadly defined as policy-relevant knowledge, evidence is selectively used by council officers in the development, delivery, and evaluation of arts programmes at two…

Over 18.5% of military personnel returning from war zones to civilian life suffer mental health issues, which can lead to family breakdown, homelessness and other problems. Almost 4000 Australian soldiers have returned home from active service in the last decade suffering from combat stress and mental health conditions. A 2009 Australian…

In 2011 members of the School of Philosophy and Theology at The University of Notre Dame Australia (UNDA) Sydney campus, designed two standards rubrics as part of a project aimed at undertaking research within the area of assuring graduate attributes and capabilities in Australian universities. The standards rubrics designed were oriented towards…

This exploratory pilot study investigates the extent to which participating in a community cultural development (CCD) initiative builds social capital among children. An independent youth arts organisation implemented two cultural activities, developing a compact disc of original music and designing mosaic artworks for a library courtyard, in two…

This article describes a developing joint venture for Arts education in Adelaide, South Australia, from 2001 to 2003. The authors (two tertiary educators at the University of South Australia and a South Australian government education department Arts educator, seconded to a performing arts company) explain who the key stakeholders are and outline…

Described is a project in which art education graduate students in Perth, Australia, built a story mural for blind children. Using an Australian adaptation of "The Wizard of Oz," they created a mural with textures and objects that illustrated the story carried in print and braille. (SJL)

The Arts Libraries Society of Australia and New Zealand (Arlis/ANZ) recently implemented a new web presence. More than just a website, it was envisaged as a web "identity", a virtual clubhouse where the Society could conduct its "virtual business" and where members could "meet" and contribute to the activities of…

A review of international developments in gifted education describes programs and trends in the U.S., Canada, Eastern and Western Australia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Included are descriptions of extracurricula centers in South Africa and increased use of independent study and mentors in the U.S. (CL)

The effects that historical, philosophical, and empirical factors have had upon the development of special education in Australia for children with learning disabilities are examined. It is suggested that, owing to the early neglect by the various education departments in providing effective services, there has been a resultant dearth of…

Describes the Language Development Project--the first national curriculum project in language education in Australia. (HOD)

These papers cover planning, organization, and administration of programs conducted by the Department of University Extension of the University of New England (New South Wales); they are concerned primarily with rural extension. The first paper reviews elements of program planning and program implementation in general. The second evaluates an…

The changing perspectives of higher educational administration in Australia are traced from the growth of the 1960s and early 1970s to the period of contraction, since 1975. Three major challenges facing administrators in the period ahead are identified: problems of continuing institutional viability with the threat of government intervention;…