Academic literature on the topic 'New South Wales Board of Jewish Education'

AbstractIn 1994, the New South Wales Board of Studies, Australia, introduced three high level Distinction Courses for gifted and talented students: Comparative Literature, Cosmology, and Philosophy. All are offered by distance education but the cosmology course employs an interactive design model and an extensive communication system that differentiates it from the other two. This paper explains the model and the way it is used in practice to organise, sequence and deliver the course. A discussion addresses ways in which the model might be used to design a wider range of courses in science for gifted and talented students.

AbstractIn 2009, the Australian states and territories signed an agreement to provide 15 hours per week of universal access to quality early education to all children in Australia in the year before they enter school. Taking on board the international evidence about the importance of early education, the Commonwealth government made a considerable investment to make universal access possible by 2013. We explore the ongoing processes that seek to make universal access a reality in New South Wales by attending to the complex agential relationships between multiple actors. While we describe the state government and policy makers′ actions in devising funding models to drive changes, we prioritise our gaze on the engagement of a preschool and its director with the state government’s initiatives that saw them develop various funding and provision models in response. To offer accounts of their participation in policy making and doing at the preschool, we use the director’s autobiographical notes. We argue that the state’s commitment to ECEC remained a form of political manoeuvring where responsibility for policy making was pushed onto early childhood actors. This manoeuvring helped to silence and further fragment the sector, but these new processes also created spaces where the sector can further struggle for recognition through the very accountability measures that the government has introduced.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the strong influence of Herbartian ideas on the first secondary school-based English course (1911) in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Whilst previous research has established the influence of the “New Education” on the (NSW Director of Education, Peter Board, the architect of the) 1911 courses, no specific analysis of Johann Friedrich Herbart’s educational ideas has been undertaken in relation to this seminal secondary English course. Design/methodology/approach Through using three of Herbart’s key educational ideas as an interpretive framework to analyse the 1911 NSW Courses of Study for High Schools English course, the paper demonstrates the influence of those ideas on this inaugural secondary English course. Findings The analysis reveals that the NSW 1911 secondary English course was influenced by Herbartian educational ideas underpinning the course. Research limitations/implications This paper focuses on the “pre-active”1911 rhetorical English curriculum in NSW, rather than the “enacted” implemented curriculum. Practical implications The paper identifies Herbartian influences on the 1911 NSW English syllabus, revealing important philosophical ideas. Social implications Future English curriculum design will benefit from the identification of the philosophical ideas embedded in the NSW 1911 English curriculum. Originality/value This analysis provides insights into the Herbartian influences on the first secondary English course in NSW.

In the aftermath of the Cronulla riots, schools were faced with the fallout of social conflict, including having to deal with widespread fear and confusion both in their local communities and among students. This was especially the case for schools in the Sutherland Shire and in the local government area (LGA) of Bankstown. Apart from the presence of many young people in the initial riot and the revenge raids, some schools, like churches, had been the target of attacks (Leys and Box, 2005: 1; Daily Telegraph, 2005: 5). Schools were also targeted as places to battle the consequences of cultural division: the then Prime Minister John Howard, in his Australia Day speech just over a month after the riots, complained that the teaching of Australian history in schools needed reform to properly foster the core values that would bind a nation together (Sydney Morning Herald, 2006). At all levels of government, a raft of programs designed to ease local tensions were introduced, many of which focused on young people or on schools (see Board of Studies New South Wales, 2007; Surf Life Saving NSW, 2006). This article outlines the contexts for understanding the role of schools: both in terms of the spatial dynamics of the ‘Shire’ and in terms of the changing nature of educational policy. It then focuses on a National Values Education Project (NVEP) involving five schools in south and south-western Sydney as a direct response to the Cronulla riot. It suggests that these contexts produce both a degree of cultural heterogeneity in young people’s social lives and a degree of segregation amongst young people in schooling which delimits ‘what is possible’ in terms of schooling responses to the Cronulla riot.

The building and construction industry makes a major contribution to the New South Wales (NSW) economy, with an annual input of 7.6% during 2010 that is projected to rise to 8.4% in 2020. Irrespective of the sector’s growth potential, it is experiencing a severe skills shortage across a range of professions including building certification. Interestingly, the certification sector and the regulatory environment in which it operates is yet to receive rigorous attention in academia and industry. In the context of NSW, the role of the accredited certifier is multifaceted and involves confirming that building work complies with environmental planning controls and the National Construction Code. The Building Professionals Board (BPB) is the statutory body responsible for accrediting these professionals. The BPB is partnering with the University of Newcastle to ameliorate the current skills shortage through the development of an evaluation instrument regarding: certifiers seeking to upgrade to a higher level of accreditation but who do not have a recognised qualification and/or are unable to obtain the practical experience relevant to progression; and associated professionals who, although not accredited, wish to become a certifier but lack the recognised qualifications and/or experience.The proposed evaluation instrument will incorporate a mix of current technologies and approaches to address the current and likely future demographics of certifiers, and their preparedness to engage with and access novel IT technologies. This paper introduces the current certification environment and the technologies proposed to structure the evaluation instrument. Keywords: Key Words: construction, building surveying, accreditation, education, assessment.

A unique project led by livestock producers, called the Cicerone Project, was undertaken on the Northern Tablelands region of New South Wales, Australia, following acknowledgement by those producers of a widening gap between them and research and extension information. The overall aim of the project was to co-learn, through a partnership between livestock producers, research, extension and other specialists, how to improve the profitability and sustainability of grazing enterprises in that region. It was hypothesised that closer engagement would help to guide relevant research efforts and also enhance the adoption of research findings. With the support of industry funding and the collaboration of key research, education and extension partners, the inaugural steering committee of the Cicerone Project commissioned a survey of over 300 land managers in the region to explore their research and adoption needs. The survey identified the most important issues and found a high level of commitment to the formation of this producer-led project. Negotiations between all collaborators led to the creation of a Business Plan prepared as the basis for an initial funding period of 5 years. Subsequent reviews of the project allowed for extensions with associated activities over an additional 4 years. In order to study the key farm management alternatives identified from the producer survey, the Cicerone Project Board decided to adopt an agricultural ecosystem approach which conducted studies using three whole-farmlet systems. The farmlet experiment compared three contiguous farmlets by measuring as many aspects of the farm systems as possible using an approach summarised in the motto adopted by the Cicerone Project of ‘compare–measure–learn–adopt’. A wide range of field days and seminars were held over the duration of the project to deliver the results to the producer members. This paper provides an introduction to a Special Issue containing 24 papers which report on the entirety of the project from planning, to execution, results, and reflections on the value obtained from the many research and extension activities, with particular emphasis on the farming systems trial conducted between 2000 and 2006.

Purpose The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate independent school Boards as teams using a social cognitive perspective. Specifically, the study investigated Board processes and the nature of relationships between Board member self-efficacy, Board collective efficacy and performance of independent school Boards in New South Wales, Australia. Design/methodology/approach A multiple case study design that used qualitative research methods was employed. An expert steering group provided advice on the categorization of governance structures. A stratified purposeful sample of eight independent school Boards within the Sydney metropolitan area, New South Wales Australia participated. Data were collected from individual, semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with the Head of school, Board Chair and two Board members from each school. The interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data were analyzed using qualitative data analysis procedures suggested in the literature. Findings The findings provide evidence that for independent school Board members in this study, self-efficacy and collective efficacy beliefs were related to perceptions of Board performance. Board member self-efficacy and Board collective efficacy appeared to be linked. Self-efficacy beliefs were primarily based on mastery experiences. Collective efficacy (at the individual level) primarily was based on members’ perceptions of Board past performance. Originality/value This paper provides insight into individual Board member beliefs likely to shape processes associated with independent school Board performance in New South Wales, Australia. The study is one of only a few that have adopted an empirical and descriptive approach, rather than only providing normative direction and imperatives.

This is an interview with Dr Wilma Vialle, Ph.D, Professor in Educational Psychology and Gifted Education in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. Dr Vialle is the author of several books, articles, and chapters on gifted education and child psychology. Her research interests are centred on giftedness and talent development and she is predominantly interested in issues concerning social justice. Recent research projects include an international study of effective teachers of the gifted, a longitudinal study of adolescent academic and social emotional outcomes, the development of expertise in competitive Scrabble players, popular culture and giftedness, and the development of spiritual understanding in children. Dr Vialle is the chief editor of the journal Talent Development and Excellence and is on the editorial board of several international journals. She is also on the Executive Board of the International Research Association for Talent Development and Excellence (IRATDE). In 2006, Dr Vialle was awarded the Eminent Australian award by the Australian Association for the Education of the Gifted and Talented (AAEGT) for her contributions to gifted education.

06–332Asker, Barry (Lingnan U, Hong Kong, China), Some reflections on English as a ‘semi-sacred’ language. English Today (Cambridge University Press) 22.1 (2006), 29–35.06–333Baldauf, Richard B. (U Queensland, Australia), Coordinating government and community support for community language teaching in Australia: Overview with special attention to New South Wales. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (Multilingual Matters) 8.2&3 (2005), 132–144.06–334Bamiro, Edmund O. (Adekunle Ajasin U, Nigeria; eddiebamiro@yahoo.com), The politics of code-switching: English vs. Nigerian languages. World Englishes (Blackwell) 25.1 (2006), 23–35.06–335Barwell, Richard (U Bristol, UK), Empowerment, EAL and the National Numeracy Strategy. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (Multilingual Matters) 8.4 (2005), 313–327.06–336Borland, Helen (Victoria U of Technology, Australia), Heritage languages and community identity building: The case of a language of lesser status. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (Multilingual Matters) 8.2&3 (2005), 109–123.06–337Cashman, Holly R. (Arizona State U, Tempe, USA), Who wins in research on bilingualism in an anti-bilingual state?. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development (Multilingual Matters) 27.1 (2006), 42–60.06–338de Courcy, Michèle (U Melbourne, Australia), Policy challenges for bilingual and immersion education in Australia: Literacy and language choices for users of Aboriginal languages, Auslan and Italian. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (Multilingual Matters) 8.2&3 (2005), 178–187.06–339Duyck, Wouter (Ghent U, Belgium), Kevin Diependaele, Denis Drieghe & Marc Brysbaert, The size of the cross-lingual masked phonological priming effect does not depend on second language proficiency. Experimental Psychology (Hogrefe & Huber Publishers) 51.2 (2004), 116–124.06–340Evans, Bruce A. (Southern Oregon U, USA; evansb@sou.edu) & Nancy H. Hornberger, No child left behind: Repealing and unpeeling federal language education policy in the United States. Language Policy (Springer) 4.1 (2005), 87–106.06–341Fitzgerald, Michael & Robert Debski (U Melbourne, Australia; rdebski@unimelb.edu.au), Internet use of Polish by Polish Melburnians: Implications for maintenance and teaching.Language Learning & Technology (http://llt.msu.edu/intro.html) 10.1 (2006), 87–109.06–342Glynn, Ted & Cavanagh, Tom (U Waikato, New Zealand), Mere Berryman & Kura Loader, From literacy in Māori to biliteracy in Māori and English: A community and school transition programme. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (Multilingual Matters) 8.5 (2005), 433–454.06–343Grin, François (U Geneva, Switzerland; francois.grin@etat.ge.ch) & Britta Korth, On the reciprocal influence of language politics and language education: The case of English in Switzerland. Language Policy (Springer) 4.1 (2005), 67–85.06–344Kagan, Olga (U California at Los Angeles, USA), In support of a proficiency-based definition of heritage language learners: The case of Russian. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (Multilingual Matters) 8.2&3 (2005), 213–221.06–345Kasanga, Luanga A. (Sultan Qaboos U, Oman; luangak@yahoo.fr), Requests in a South African variety of English. World Englishes (Blackwell) 25.1 (2006), 65–89.06–346Love, Tracy (U Califonia, USA), Edwin Maas & David Swinney, Influence of language exposure on lexical and syntactic language processing. Experimental Psychology (Hogrefe & Huber Publishers) 50.3 (2003), 204–216.06–347Malcolm, Ian G. (Edith Cowan U, Mount Lawley, Australia) & Farzad Sharifian, Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue: Australian Aboriginal students' schematic repertoire. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development (Multilingual Matters) 26.6 (2005), 512–532.06–348May, Stephen & Richard Hill (U Waikato, New Zealand), Māori-medium education: Current issues and challenges. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (Multilingual Matters) 8.5 (2005), 377–403.06–349Mercurio, Antonio (Assessment Board of South Australia, Australia) & Angela Scarino, Heritage languages at upper secondary level in South Australia: A struggle for legitimacy. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (Multilingual Matters) 8.2&3 (2005), 145–159.06–350Nicholls, Christine (Flinders U, Australia), Death by a thousand cuts: Indigenous language bilingual education programmes in the Northern Territory of Australia, 1972–1998. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (Multilingual Matters) 8.2&3 (2005), 160–177.06–351Pauwels, Anna (The U Western Australia, Australia), Maintaining the community language in Australia: Challenges and roles for families. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (Multilingual Matters) 8.2&3 (2005), 124–131.06–352Rau, Cath (U Waikato, New Zealand), Literacy acquisition, assessment and achievement of year two students in total immersion in Māori programmes. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (Multilingual Matters) 8.5 (2005), 404–432.06–353Sharifian, Farzad (Monash U, Victoria, Australia; Farzad.Sharifian@arts.monash.edu.au), A cultural-conceptual approach and world Englishes: The case of Aboriginal English. World Englishes (Blackwell) 25.1 (2006), 11–22.06–354Starks, Donna (U Auckland, New Zealand), The effects of self-confidence in bilingual abilities on language use: Perspectives on Pasifika language use in South Auckland. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development (Multilingual Matters) 26.6 (2005), 533–550.06–355Tagoilelagi-LeotaGlynn, Fa'asaulala, Stuart McNaughton, Shelley MacDonald & Sasha Farry (U Auckland, New Zealand), Bilingual and biliteracy development over the transition to school. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (Multilingual Matters) 8.5 (2005), 455–479.06–356Tuafuti, Patisepa & John McCaffery (U Auckland, New Zealand), Family and community empowerment through bilingual education. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (Multilingual Matters) 8.5 (2005), 480–503.06–357Tucker, G. Richard (Carnegie Mellon U, USA), Innovative language education programmes for heritage language students: The special case of Puerto Ricans?International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (Multilingual Matters) 8.2&3 (2005), 188–195.06–358Wiltshire, Caroline R. & James D. Harnsberger (U Florida, USA; wiltshir@ufl.edu), The influence of Gujarati and Tamil L1s on Indian English: A preliminary study. World Englishes (Blackwell) 25.1 (2006), 91–104.06–359Zhiming, Bao & Hong Huaqing (National University of Singapore, Singapore; ellbaozm@nus.edu.sg), Diglossia and register variation in Singapore English. World Englishes (Blackwell) 25.1 (2006), 105–114.