Educating the Adolescent: An historical study of curriculum, counselling and citizenship in Australia, 1930s-1970s. Researcher: Professor Julie McLeod Educating the Australian Adolescent is an historical study of Australian secondary education in the middle decades of the twentieth century. The project is examining ideas and debates about how best to educate Australian secondary school students and the role of schooling in shaping social values and citizenship, in the past and in the present.This research takes a close look at curriculum programs and reforms and…
Educating the Australian Adolescent Project Lead: Professor Julie McLeod Educating the Australian Adolescent is an historical study of Australian secondary education in the middle decades of the twentieth century. The project is examining ideas and debates about how best to educate Australian secondary school students and the role of schooling in shaping social values and citizenship, in the past and in the present.Image: A. G. Foster, Group of school students and teachers outside their…
Education Benalla Program Evaluation Project contact: A/Prof Helen Stokes The Education Benalla Program (EBP) is a whole-of-community initiative that aims to reduce disadvantage in the Benalla district of Victoria. A two phase intervention, the project seeks to tackle high rates of early school leaving and educational disengagement, focusing on the key areas of school readiness, student well-being and transition to tertiary education. The YRC was contracted to evaluate Phase 1 of the project, develop…
Effects of Positive Education during the critical post-school transition Prof. Dianne Vella-Brodrick Evidence for the benefits of positive education programs in improving well-being among high school students is growing. The sustained effects are, however, not known particularly at the post-school stage when young people are negotiating challenges in work, learning and relationships. Using a mixed method, longitudinal design this study will examine whether participating in school-based positive education assists young people during their post-school transition. The extent…
Enhancing adolescent mental health through positive education Prof. Dianne Vella-Brodrick With 1 in 4 youth experiencing mental illness in Australia, the escalating demand for mental health promotion within schools necessitates an examination of the efficacy and practical utility of an exemplary positive education program (PEP) to improve mental health and stimulate learning.Using comprehensive and innovative methods including psychophysiological indices and mobile technology momentary sampling, this study will identify factors influencing program success in both advantaged…
Enhancing desirability: supporting teacher candidates in their placements to succeed in rural schools Project contact: Dr Hernán Cuervo This research project examines the role that pre-service teacher education placements in rural settings have to become the key to unlock the rural school staffing shortage. It is a qualitative research study with eight pre-service teachers at a metropolitan university who undertook a rural teaching placement. Semi-structured interviews are conducted over 16 months with all participants in this study. Rather than looking at the stage…
Evaluate the impact of positive education on teachers and students in a sample of UAE public schools Prof. Dianne Vella-Brodrick This project will evaluate the effects of the Positive Education and Moral Development programs on student wellbeing and academic outcomes (evaluation of 20 schools by Centre for Positive Psychology). The wellbeing areas to be surveyed will include emotional states, emotional regulation, psychosocial factors, strengths and virtues. Student and staff perspectives on the positive education program and the effects on student wellbeing and learning will also…
Evaluation and Review of Assessment Systems Contact: Hilary Slater The ARC routinely conducts evaluations and reviews of assessment, certification and recognition systems. Recent evaluations have been done for the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority, reviewing the efficacy of assessment and moderation methods associated with the implementation of their new senior secondary system; review of the technical qualities of the Foundation Skills Assessment Tool for the Commonwealth Department of Education, conducted in association with the…
Evaluation of Doxa Youth Foundation Doxa Youth Foundation (Doxa) is a not-for profit organisation that seeks to improve the long-term outcomes of disadvantaged children and young people by providing education-related programming for young people. Much of Doxa’s work centres around two streams of work that, together, seek to improve resilience, self-worth and relational health among participants:experiential camps, including outdoor education camps and city camps for students from rural/regional areas, anduniversity-related…
Evaluation of Greater Shepparton Lighthouse ‘Conversations with Kids’ sub-program Project contact: A/PROF Helen Stokes ‘Conversations with Kids’ is a language development program voluntarily provided by retired teachers to early years students at one of the primary schools in Shepparton. The program is an initiative of Greater Shepparton Lighthouse, and part of its community volunteering outreach. Evaluation of the initiative has been enabled by the partnership between the University of Melbourne and Greater Shepparton Lighthouse.
Evaluation of Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) The Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority have engaged AERC to conduct a 2 year evaluation of the Queensland Certificate of Education.
Evaluation of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers Project Manager: Ms Anna Dabrowski The Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) has engaged the University of Melbourne and our partner, the Australian College of Educators, to design, develop and deliver the process and impact evaluation of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (the Standards; formerly known as the National Professional Standards for Teachers), which is planned to conclude in December 2015.The Standards were developed by AITSL and…
Evaluation of the MY Mentoring project Project Lead: A/Prof Helen Stokes This project seeks to address a gap in common understanding about which mentoring models (and components of models) work best with CMY’s Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) client base. The evaluation examines and compares the impact of three specifically tailored Mentoring models. One targets young people within the Pasifika community. Two others, one a school-based peer-to-peer initiative and the other linked to an existing out-of-school…
Evaluation of the VicHealth Local Government Partnership In 2022, AERC (formerly the Centre for Program Evaluation) and the Centre for Healthy Policy were the successful bidders for the evaluation of the VicHealth Local Government Partnership Initiative. This project entails a three-year process and impact evaluation focussing on a place-based initiative to engage young people in the development of municipal health and wellbeing plans, along with supporting councils to adopt a systems-thinking lens…
Evaluation of Vic Opera’s ‘Connecting the Classroom’ outreach program and three-year regional outreach project Assoc. Prof. John Owen Victorian Opera deliver programs to Schools to familiarise the students on Opera and they provide opera performances at Regional Centres across Victoria. Our evaluation focus has been on the delivery of the 3-year program, as well as determining the effectiveness and impact of this program.Specifically in terms of the Regional Opera Productions in Victoria the evaluation is to:Review the delivery of Opera Victoria’s program to…
Every Toddler Talking Research Evaluation Assoc. Prof. Patricia Eadie The Every Toddler Talking (ETT) research trial aligns with the Victorian Government Education State priorities to achieve earlier engagement in high quality learning, better connection between services, and better support for children and families experiencing disadvantage. ETT aims to advance babies’ and toddlers’ learning and development by boosting the ability of early childhood education and care (ECEC) services to support language and literacy learning for…
Examining evidence use in early childhood education and care (ECEC) and schools Project Lead: Dr Penny Levickis The REEaCh Hub, in partnership with the Centre for Program Evaluation (CPE), is working with the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO) to examine educators’ use of evidence in Early Childhood Education and Care services and schools across Australia. The project, which is led by AERO, will employ qualitative methods, using semi-structured interviews to better understand how educators in Australia use evidence to support their teaching…
Expansion of Early Abilities Based Learning and Educational Support (for the Victorian Department of Education and Training) Jayne Johnston Children develop and learn in different ways. Some young children require additional support to develop skills and continue a pathway of positive learning. The previous Early Abilities Based Learning and Educational Support (Early ABLES) Project provided practical resources for early childhood professionals as they assess, plan, facilitate, and report on the learning of foundational skills for children aged two to five years with disabilities and…
Exploring student perspectives on how students from diverse backgrounds manage university studies Project lead: Dr Maree Martinussen University student populations are very diverse, and the different demographic characteristics students possess may affect their experience at university. In this study, I am interested in exploring how students manage competing demands, such as the need to do employed work or caring responsibilities, in addition to studies. A central focus of this research is to understand student perspectives on whether there should be considerations made…
Exploring teacher professional learning in a virtual environment Chief Investigator: Dr Linda Ball The focus of this innovative project is on the design, development and trialing of a proof-of-concept virtual environment as a model for professional learning for teachers of mathematics. This project will establish a virtual classroom where participants can observe and explore teacher and student thinking. The virtual classroom will provide currently unavailable opportunities to immerse participants in a range of classroom situations, informed by research.Participants…
Factors affecting demand for higher level VET qualifications by students from low SES backgrounds and possible policy interventions to increase their participation in higher VET qualifications Dr Mary Leahy The project explores the reasons for low participation by students from low socio economic status in higher level VET. It will pull together findings from the range of studies that have been conducted in relation to socioeconomic status, academic achievement and post- school destinations - in particular, level of VET study - to explore what factors may be relevant in changing demand for…
Factors enabling entry into and engagement with VET for young, early school leavers Kira Clarke The research will investigate factors that impact on young people's participation, engagement and completion of vocational training with a particular focus on young people at the margins of the system: those who are at high risk of not engaging in, or completing vocational training programs. The research will also engage with adult intermediaries who are in close proximity to these young people.The research will provide…
Families as First Teachers (FaFT) Online Coaching study Project Lead: A/Professor Jane Page The FaFT online coaching study is a one-year project funded by the Northern Territory Government’s Department of Education to examine the impact of targeted coaching and web-based support on FaFT Family educators’ (FE’s) and Family Liaison Officers’ (FLO’s) fidelity of implementation of conversational reading teaching strategies in their daily interactions with mothers and young children attending the FaFT playgroups in 10 remote Northern Territory communities.…
Family engagement with Early Childhood Education and Care during the COVID-19 pandemic Project Lead: Dr Penny Levickis Led by Dr Penny Levickis, this research project aims to find out if the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way families use and interact with their early childhood education and care services. We are also interested in exploring how early childhood education and care services have supported families and children with learning at home during the stay-at-home restrictions, as well as how services might be…
Focus on learners: education experts to Government Education media contact: Erin Dale Australia’s current education policies will not address its slipping international rankings, a new paper from the University of Melbourne’s Graduate School of Education argues.The paper argues that Australia is unlikely to reach its goal of becoming a top 5 nation in education by 2025 without a major change in education policies.It outlines policies currently on the agenda that will not improve Australian student outcomes, including…
Formative Assessment Project Contact: Pam Robertson The Assessment Research Centre has a strong research culture, international reputation, and theoretical base in the use of formative assessment to improve teaching and learning. The Centre regularly works with educators and education systems to support the implementation of best-practice use of formative assessment in classrooms. While many understandings of formative assessment exist, the Centre views formative assessment as any assessment that is used to…
Fostering rich and supportive learning environments for disadvantaged young people Prof. Dianne Vella-Brodrick This project is a collaboration between The Centre for Positive Psychology and the Brotherhood of St Laurence. Both organisations share similar goals around advancing the science and practice of wellbeing for students, teachers and education systems. The Brotherhood of St Laurence has been instrumental in developing this proposal based on needs they have identified in their work with disadvantaged young people. The aim of this…
Gender identity in early childhood Project lead: Assoc. Prof. Kylie Smith In the late 1990s and early 2000s Australian and international early childhood scholars researched and wrote about the importance of gender identity work in the early childhood classroom (e.g. MacNaughton, 1997, 2000; Blaise, 2005). Currently, there appears to be a lack of information about how this past research has translated to everyday early childhood classroom practice. The aims of this pilot project are twofold. Firstly…