This is the archive blog of Journoz.Com, the Guide to Internet Information Sources for Ethical Australian Journalists. To view the main website, click here:

Ethical Australian Journalists Guide



Archive:

February 28, 2005

Generation Net

The Net Generation's "aptitudes, attitudes, expectations, and learning styles... reflect the environment in which they were raised" - the always-on, media-saturated world of chat, IM, email and the Web. Want to know more? EDUCAUSE (http://www.educause.edu/) has a whole new e-book, called Educating the Net Generation, that you can download about how Net Gen people think and learn. It's at http://www.educause.edu/content.asp?page_id=5989&bhcp=1 and you can get the whole book (in PDF only) or chapter by chapter, in either HTML or PDF.
Posted by belinda at 11:31 AM | Comments (0)

March 09, 2004

Private schools do well

According to an updated Research Note 41 written by the Social Policy Group of the Parliamentary Library, "The current trend in Commonwealth funding for schools, with an increasing share for the non-government school sector, is expected to continue." The note provides tables of figures since 1996 to enable comparisons to be done over time. The note states that: "While Commonwealth SPPs (Special Purpose Payments) during this period have increased in real terms for both government and non-government schools, the share of funding between the two school sectors has changed. The share for government schools has dropped from 42 per cent in 1995–96 to an estimated 33 per cent in 2003–04." The note is in HTML at http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rn/2003-04/04rn41.htm or in PDF at http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rn/2003-04/04rn41.pdf.
Posted by belinda at 01:20 PM | Comments (0)

February 09, 2004

Good schools?

John Howard would have us believe the state school system is failing children, so it is timely that the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) has published an article entitled What makes a good school?. Presumably it's one where politicians don't venture for photo opps when they're in campaign mode. According to ACER, some characteristics include 'strong and effective school leaders', 'outstanding school cultures', a learning-centred approach and good monitoring and evaluation systems for school performance. Strong parental and community support is also key. Read the full piece at http://www.acer.edu.au/publications/newsletters/eNews/2004/good_schools_feb04.htm.
Posted by belinda at 03:13 PM | Comments (0)

January 30, 2004

Could do better?

Despite John Howard's claim that parents are moving to private education in droves because state schools are value-free, economist John Quiggin says the real surprise is that "the increase in attendance at private schools has been so small." As he states, "Thanks to changes in federal government policy, subsidies to private education have been steadily increasing. Meanwhile, the effective subsidy to publicly educated students has remained constant or declined in recent years. Standard economic analysis suggests that when a service is subsidised, its consumption will increase." So if private school enrolments are not increasing dramatically, despite their generous subsidies, Howard is well off the mark. Read Quiggin's piece to understand how and why. It's at http://www.apo.org.au/webboard/items/2004/01/00574.shtml.
Posted by belinda at 03:11 PM | Comments (0)

November 19, 2003

Hacking Australia's Future

In response to the Government's Higher Education Support Bill, the Senate's Employment, Workplace Relations and Education References Committee has produced a counter-document called "Hacking Australia’s Future Threats to institutional autonomy, academic freedom and student choice in Australian higher education". The document says: "Important features of the nation’s higher education system are being fundamentally reshaped and redefined by the Higher Education Support Bill. Such a radical assault of the fundamentals of the system was not foreshadowed nor discussed during the review process. The sector and the broader community do not support discarding university autonomy and academic freedom. These bills will initiate a regime which will shift costs to students. It will stifle student choice and impose a heavy burden on families. These bills will deepen inequities in society, and undermine economic and social prosperity." The full text, (211 pages), is online at http://www.aph.gov.au/Senate/committee/eet_ctte/highed2003/report/highed.pdf
Posted by belinda at 09:00 AM | Comments (0)

October 30, 2003

Staying or going?

For a comparison of high school completion rates from 1989 to 2002, see 'Factors affecting Year 12 retention across Australian states and territories in the 1990s' published by the Centre for Economic Policy Research, Australian National University. It's at http://cepr.anu.edu.au/pdf/DP467.pdf. According to this report, Year 12 retention rates are no lower in the late 1990s than in the early 1990s, though official figures apparently claim they are.
Posted by belinda at 11:35 AM | Comments (0)

October 10, 2003

No university for the poor?

ACOSS says the Government's proposed educational changes will disadvantage poor students and stop some of them from going to university. Read all about it in ACOSS's media release, Higher ed package fails to address student poverty: ACOSS submission at http://coss.net.au/news/acoss/1065483948_14801_acoss.jsp?subsite+acoss.
Posted by belinda at 03:53 PM | Comments (0)

September 12, 2003

Worth the bother?

Will going to university or TAFE get you a job? Or a better job? Facts and figures on this can be found at GradLink (http://www.gradlink.edu.au/), which also has job-seeking help, GradsOnline (http://www.gradsonline.edu.au/gradsonline/), which has graduate destination surveys and charting and the National Council for Vocational Education Research (http://www.ncver.edu.au/), which publishes a Student Outcomes Survey.
Posted by belinda at 02:45 PM | Comments (0)

July 04, 2003

Key to the labyrinth

Given the tortuous nature of changes to education funding, it is fortunate that the Parliamentary Library are up to the task of providing a guide to it. Their 2000 e-Brief on Higher Education Funding Policy has been recently updated to take in recent developments. Find it at http://www.aph.gov.au/library/intguide/SP/hefunding.htm.
Posted by belinda at 03:21 PM | Comments (0)

June 13, 2003

How unis should be governed

With the governance of Australian higher education in Brendan Nelson's sights, it's interesting to look at the recently published Review of New Zealand Tertiary Education Institution Governance for comparison. The NZ review specifies needed improvements such as "clarifying the roles and responsibilities of Councils and their members, improving the balance between Councils, Chief Executives and Academic Boards, sharing of good governance practice across the sector, and optimising the role of stakeholders in tertiary governance". The review is at http://governance.canberra.edu.au/the_institute/Institute_publications.html
Posted by belinda at 11:23 AM | Comments (0)

May 14, 2003

Education and the Budget

The Department of Education, Science and Training has a Budget at a glance document for anyone writing education-related stories about last night's budget. It's at http://www.dest.gov.au/at_a_glance.htm. There are separate sections for
  • Higher Education
  • Schools
  • Training
  • Indigenous Education
  • Science and Innovation
  • International Education.
Posted by belinda at 12:09 PM | Comments (0)

April 30, 2003

Education update

Keep up to date with news and developments in Australian higher education via the UOW Higher Education Gateway at http://www.library.uow.edu.au/about/news/gateway/index.html.
Posted by belinda at 04:12 PM | Comments (0)

February 06, 2003

Changes in Academia - new report

DEST has just published a new report - 178 pages and available in PDF - on Changes in Academic Life: Implications for Universities of the Changing Age Distribution and Work Roles of Academic Life. There are sections on casual staffing, research and job satisfaction (or lack of it). You can get it at http://www.dest.gov.au/highered/otherpub/academic_work.pdf.
Posted by journoz at 01:53 PM | Comments (0)

October 21, 2002

Education of boys

The full report, "Boys: Getting it right", of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education and Training is now online at http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/edt/eofb/report/fullrpt.pdf. It's in PDF. At the committee page, http://www.aph.gov.au/house/committee/edt/eofb/report.htm, you can get it chapter by chapter.
Posted by journoz at 03:00 PM | Comments (0)