UniSA Open Journal System (Univ. of South Australia)
Not a member yet
409 research outputs found
Sort by
Implementing P4C in the primary classroom: Some fuzzy predictions
No full textFor a number of years the writer worked for a large rural Local Authority in England. During this time several schools were trained in the Philosophy for Children approach and yet very few were able to sustain this innovation. Teachers are the agents of change in the classroom (Hargreaves 1994; Stenhouse 1975) and therefore the writer believes that it is vital to understand ‘the considerations which bear upon curricular action’ (Stenhouse 1975, p. 111) when teachers are attempting to implement P4C. This research set out to test the veracity of Leat’s (1999) claim that teacher efficacy (i.e. teachers’ beliefs about their ability to positively influence student outcomes) ‘… is a measure of the chances of implementing change’ (p. 399). The study employed teacher interviews to examine the factors which teachers perceived to determine the implementation of P4C in their own classrooms.
‘If they can say it they can do it’: redesigning pedagogies in senior secondary physical education
No full textPedagogical practices are central to teachers’ work, and in the spaces of schooling bear a potential to impact on students. This impact is particularly significant for students attending schools where low socio-economic factors prevail, as these students rely heavily on formal schooling for their educational resources. Interrelationships between pedagogical practices, senior-secondary physical education curriculum, and the learning experienced by students from a school located in an area of socio-economic disadvantage are explored in this paper. The specific focus is action research conducted by a physical education teacher and university academics, which investigated pedagogical redesign for a ‘skill acquisition unit’. Of key interest are pedagogical practices that sought to scaffold the acquisition and application of scientific literacies, which are fundamental to academic success in senior secondary physical education. Findings reveal high levels of student engagement, successful utilisation of scientific literacies specific to motor-skill acquisition and application of new learning to life-world situations. We argue that pedagogical practices that breach the divide between student life-world knowledge and powerful or specialised knowledge can disrupt default modes of teaching theoretical concepts in physical education, which marginalise and exclude students from low-socio-economic backgrounds.
Key words: physical education, pedagogies, vertical and horizontal discourse
Socrates in the schools: Gains at three-year follow-up
No full textThree recent research reports by Topping and Trickey (2007a; 2007b), by Fair and colleagues (2015), and by Gorard, Siddiqui and Huat See (2015) have produced data that support the conclusion that a Philosophy for Children (P4C) program of one-hour-per-week structured discussions has a marked positive impact on students. This article presents data from a follow up study done three years after the completion of the study reported in Fair et al. (2015). The data show that the positive gains in scores on the Cognitive Abilities Test (CogAT in the USA and CAT in the UK) were still present and had not faded after three years. Given the strength of these confirmations of the positive durable impact of the P4C program of structured discussions and given the relatively low cost of implementing the P4C program, it is recommended that it become a standard part of the school curriculum
Practicing philosophy of childhood: Teaching in the (r)evolutionary mode
No full textThis article explores the necessary requirements for effective teacher facilitation of community of philosophical inquiry sessions among children, and suggests that the first and most important prerequisite is the capacity to listen to children, which in turn is based on a critical and reflective interrogation of one’s own philosophy of childhood (POC)—the set of beliefs and assumptions about children and childhood which adults tend to project onto real children. It argues that the most effective way to explore these assumptions is in community of philosophical inquiry (CPI), where we encounter the same concepts—nature, person, good and evil, innocence, etc.—which underlie more general philosophical inquiry. It then describes the work of the American educator Patricia Carini, who developed the Descriptive Review Process as a phenomenological approach to understanding the children with whom one is in relation, and identifies the Descriptive Review Process as another form of the practice of philosophy of childhood which, together with the regular practice of POC-CPI among teachers, offers us a grounded, integrated methodology for schools dedicated to adult-child dialogue and to school as a site for cultural reconstruction
THE CHOICE BETWEEN ADOPTION AND FOSTER CARE AS CHILD PROTECTION RESPONSES
No full textChild protection systems in Australia are struggling to cope with the growing number of children requiring out-of-home care because of abuse or neglect occurring within families. Professionals and governments are grappling with the alternative care options that are available in an attempt to improve children’s health, education and emotional development. Research demonstrates that children suffer if they are exposed to multiple placements throughout childhood and this leads some to believe that the permanency of adoption would better serve the needs of children from broken families. This article considers the recent proposal by the South Australian State Coroner to expand the role of adoption as a child protection response, noting that New South Wales introduced such a model in 2014. It also examines international approaches in this area as well as the findings of studies into foster care and adoption. By drawing together the knowledge gained from different policy and practice approaches to out-of-home care, this article argues that introducing a blanket approach favouring adoption is not an appropriate option. It concludes that the only model likely to achieve the best outcomes for children is one involving individual responses to every child
IS SOCIETY STILL SHACKLED WITH THE CHAINS OF A 1993 ENGLAND?: CONSENT, SADO-MASOCHISM AND R V BROWN
No full textSadomasochism has traditionally been categorised as a deviant sexual desire, painted with the same brush of immorality that was applied to homosexuality and transvestism for decades. It has been denounced, not only by society, but also by the medical profession and the judiciary. In R v Brown, the House of Lords highlighted society’s revulsion for such practices and refused, as an issue of public policy, to allow consent to be raised as a defence by those who engage in such activities. In the 22 years since the decision, however, the weight placed on the protection of our bodily autonomy and freedom of sexual expression has significantly increased. The applicability of R v Brown in light of these changes is yet to be considered in Australia with any binding authority. This article seeks to provide readers with an insight into the likely outcome of an attempt to prosecute those who, in 2015, engage in sadomasochism. Ultimately, this article concludes that as a result of s 22 of the Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (SA), construed in light of the increased value placed on protecting bodily autonomy, sexual self-determination and the preservation of privacy, a South Australian court, and to a lesser extent, all Australian courts, would recognise the consent of those who sustain harm in the pursuit of pain-induced pleasure
Editorial
No full textMaking the case for Pedagogies for Justice
… it is through pedagogies that education gets done. (Lingard 2007: 247)
This special issue represents some of the recent research from the Pedagogies for Justice Research Group (as part of the Centre for Research in Education) at the University of South Australia. The Pedagogies for Justice Research Group was established in 2013, and we have convened a National workshop/conference and a number of Symposia at the Australian Association for Research in Education, (AARE) Conference in Adelaide (2013) and in Brisbane (2014). The four papers in this edition have evolved from these events
Editorial
No full textThis special issue was born out of ongoing conversations with JEE co-editor Tom Stehlik who I first met in Samos, Greece at an International Education conference in 2011. Tom willingly accepted to step into a role for a performed piece of research I had developed to share at the conference. Since then we’ve discussed pedagogical implications of engaging in performing research within educational contexts. Arts-based research in education has gained a great deal of momentum over the last few decades, and I am delighted to share some of the leading voices in this field in this guest edited issue that focuses on developing monologues as a form of performed research
Deep Ecology as a framework for student eco-philosophical thinking
No full textDeep ecology is an ecological philosophy that promotes an ecocentric lifestyle to remedy the problems of depleting resources and planetary degradation. An integral part of this ecosophy is the process of forming a metaphysical connection to the earth, referred to as self-realisation; an unfolding of the self out into nature to attain a transcendental, non-egoic state. Findings from our research indicate that secondary school students in environment clubs align with the principles of deep ecology, and show a capacity to become student eco-philosophers, and they report empathy for becoming ecocentric beings. This study explores the capacity for students to engage in environmental philosophy
Reflections on a Peace Education Theatre Project: Performing Dario Fo and Franca Rame's Peace Mum
No full textThis essay offers reflective practitioner insights into an applied theatre peace education project performed in and around Victoria BC in 2007 and 2008. The essay consists of three reflections: The first offers a narrative overview of the project and production, including the post-show conversations with student audiences that were carried out in-role; the second is in poetic form that invites deeper levels of understanding and response to a lived performance event; the third and final reflection surveys performative writing as an effective and affective means to write about performed research or other kinds of performances such as applied theatre