RUDOLF DREIKURS

The Encyclopedia Britannica depicts Dreikurs as an "American psychiatrist and educator who developed the Austrian psychologist Alfred Adler's system of individual psychology into a pragmatic method for understanding the purposes of reprehensible behaviour in children and for stimulating cooperative behaviour without punishment or reward."

Basics of Adler and Dreikurs’s social theory

i) Man is a social being and his main desire (the basic motivation) is to belong.

ii) All behavior is purposive. One cannot understand behavior of another person unless one knows to which goal it is directed, and it is always directed towards finding one's place.

iii) Man is a decision-making organism.

iv) Man does not see reality as it is, but only as he perceives it, and his perception may be mistaken or biased.



Basic Assumption

All misbehavior is the result of a child’s mistaken assumption about the way he can find a place and gain status (Dreikurs, 1968, p. 36).


Rudolf Dreikurs main focus is on establishing a classroom which is democratic in nature and gives students a sense of belonging. This is put in place when students have some voice as to the functions of the classroom. Mutual trust between the teacher is created in various ways, including common group discussions about class concerns.

Dreikurs maintains that "discipline makes no use of punishment." He further believes that students have different levels of misbehavior. These misbehaviors occur in a progressive manner. The child first tries to get attention. If this does not work, the child will misbehave further in an effort to achieve power over the teacher or others. When attention or power do not gain the student sufficient status, they seek revenge. They believe they can only feel significant if they hurt others. After all else fails, the student then displays inadequacy. This is also called "learned helplessness." The student sees themselves as a complete failure. They feel others will leave them alone if others see them as inadequate.
Dreikurs model is an ideal one for enhancing student empowerment.



Dreikurs defined three types of teachers: autocratic, permissive and democratic. Autocratic teachers are teachers who exhibit the following traits: the are bossy, use a sharp tone of voice, command, exercise power, dominate, exert pressure, demand cooperation, tell you what you should do, impose ideas, dominate, criticize, find fault, punish and unilaterally establish all procedures, rules and consequences. Permissive teachers place few if any limits on student’s behavior, nor do they invoke logical consequences when misbehavior disrupts the class. Their demeanor is wishy washy and they tend to make excuses for students who misbehave. Democratic teachers stand in marked the following traits of democratic teaching: leadership, friendliness, inviting nature, stimulation traits of ideas, cooperation, guidance, encouragement, acknowledgement, helpfulness and shared responsibilities. Dreikurs believed that democratic teachers in contrast to autocratic and permissive teachers are more likely to help students become self-disciplined.

Dreikurs did not consider punishment as an effective method of discipline. He viewed punishment as an action taken by the teacher to get back at students and show them whose boss. He believed that punishment was humiliating and offensive to students.

Dreikurs central focus was on constructive behavior rather than coercive discipline. He believed that teachers should have a democratic classroom and teaching style, for helping students gain a sense of belonging (genuine goal). He believed that in this manner students would have a social interest: a condition in which students come to see that it is to their advantage to contribute to the welfare of a group.

CHARTER FOR CHILDHOOD-DREIKURS

(Dreikurs, 1972, pp. 28-29)

If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn.

If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight.

If a child lives with ridicule, he learns to be shy.

If a child lives with fear, he learns to be apprehensive.

If a child lives with shame, he learns to feel guilty.

If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient.

If a child lives with encouragement, he learns to be confident.

If a child lives with acceptance, he learns to love.

If a child lives with approval, he learns to like himself.

If a child lives with recognition, he learns it is good to have a goal.

If a child lives with honesty, he learns what truth is.

If a child lives with fairness, he learns justice.

If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith in himself and those about him.

If a child lives with friendliness, he learns the world is a nice place in which to live, to love and be loved.

WILLIAM GLASSER-CHOICE THEORY

William Glasser

The Ten Axioms of Choice Theory

• The only person whose behavior we can control is our own.

• All we can give another person is information.

• All long-lasting psychological problems are relationship problems.

• The problem relationship is always part of our present life.

• What happened in the past has everything to do with what we are today, but we can only satisfy our basic needs right now and plan to continue satisfying them in the future.

• We can only satisfy our needs by satisfying the pictures in our Quality World.

• All we do is behave.

• All behavior is Total Behavior and is made up of four components: acting, thinking, feeling and physiology.

• All Total Behavior is chosen, but we only have direct control over the acting and thinking components. We can only control our feeling and physiology indirectly through how we choose to act and think.

• All Total Behavior is designated by verbs and named by the part that is the most recognizable.
• 

http://www.choicetheory.com/ct.htm

WHAT MAKES EFFECTIVE GROUP DISCUSSION

Four essential skills for effective group discussions are:

Asking questions- The key to all effective group discussion is framing the question in a manner that encourages participation of all members, and addresses the issues at hand. Recognizing and using non-verbal cues. Using active listening skills. Students need to be educated to value all contributions and allow for diversity in responses. Respect-all members are valued. WHEATLEY Recording the group's work. Other factors that are worthy of consideration are the group's physical configuration, for example a circle, arc, indoors v's outdoors, gender balance, diversity of participants- including age, experience, background, cultural interest and so on. The teacher will model observe and intervene if required. THINK/PAIR/SHARE- Better to pair randomly Group Discussion = Riot/Chaos- a time waster Recommended Reading: BECOMING AN EFFECTIVE TEACHER-By Tony Featherstone

EDUCATION FOR THE 21ST CENTURY-WORKING WITH GROUPS

MODEL OF EDUCATION IN VOGUE : CONSTRUCTIVIST EDUCATION

PIAGET- Children are not adults; children construct their own understanding of reality through trial and error. Piaget gave the example of his own daughter who was asked, 'what makes the wind'. The answer she gave was that 'the trees make the wind'. Then her father asked her what makes the wind on the water. This question required further contemplation and enhances the possibility of the child entering what Vygotsky was later to name the Zone of Proximal Development. A good teacher engages students by finding their current understandings and then giving them the opportunity to gather more information and integrate it into their current scheme of understanding. Piaget refers to knowledge as a scheme which can be modified and built upon.



VYGOTSKY- SOCIAL INTERACTION:Students need to have effective social interaction for good learning to occur. While an individual can build their own schemes, a person only really learns when they discuss an idea with another person. This requires that they question, think, ask, help and rethink. Their Scheme of Understanding is constantly developing. It is important to remember this in the classroom.

Group work and the classroom
For effective group work we need the following factors to be present
i) Three, four or five members only
ii) Positive Interdependence
iii) A clear set of specific student learning outcomes
iv) Recognition of the group
v) Interaction within the group
vi) Structuring the task
vii) Resources
viii) Post Group Reflection
ix) Assessment in groups

The social interaction in a classroom is provided by group work. This involves students collaborating in their learning. Your may remember the conditions required for a group to be able to function effectively. In summary these are
i) Appropraite Place
ii) Quality Time


Collaborative Learning Types
i) Pairs. This is very important and really needs to be taking place constantly in a classroom. The challenge for the teacher is to focus the students on discussion of the topic in hand. For it to be successful it is important that the pair have the sense of a common project, that they are solving a problem, that they are building knowledge. It is necessary to tap into this creative side of the individuals. They have to have a sense of working on a project together to find an original solution.
It is largely a waste of time to tell them to discuss what you have just been saying. What you have to do is throw out a challenging question or issue that they discuss in order to form an opinion or to find an answer. The need for a well prepared lesson including the preparation of good key questions is the key to success here.
Remember it is through their discussion, their social interaction that the learning occurs, that their Scheme of Understanding develops. They need to have a feedback mechanism for their solution to you the teacher and their fellow students. It is here that group work begins.

Think ---- Pair --- Share

ii) Group work.
One of the frustrations in group work is that only some individuals contribute. This is why it is important that you prepare well for group work.The technical word is scaffold learning. There are two proven methods to improve group work.

a) Think, pair, share
Here the students come to the group having thought about the issue and already discussed it with another person. We know that the most effective way to learn is to teach others. So when you are doing the think, pair, share activity make sure they know they have to teach their group. Do not put the pair in the same group. The students can then teach the students their ideas and then discuss gaining further insights.



b) Jigsaw Groups
We covered this earlier this semester. Check on your notes. But basically it is
a. Teacher nominates members of the group
b. Teacher allocates a number of tasks to each group
c) Group members allocate a task to each member
d) The group member becomes an expert on that task
e) The Experts from each group meet and discuss and gain further understanding
f) Members return to their group and teach the other members of the group.

Tutorial Activity
(Taken from Becoming an Effective Teacher, Tony Featherston)

Think, Pair, Share model for group work.

Prepare for a Think, Pair Share activity using the following Group Work Planning Sheet

Learning Outcomes:
How to conduct good group discussion in the classroom.

Goal/task:
Effective learning, Efficient time use
Sub-tasks:
What roles will members have?
What amount of time will be allocated?
How will people be kept on task?
What structure will the group take?

Group Members Role :
A 1 Leader Initiates- empowers others

2 Chairperson- Chairs group

3 Scribe- Documents

4 Resource Manager- Prepares and archives resources

5 Participants- Participate


Other factors for consideration:
How I will establish ownership of individual goals:
I will recognise groups that achieve by:
Specific group skills to focus on or build in this session:
Resources required:
Reflection conducted by:

VISUAL ARTS

• VISUAL ARTS SYLLABUS
  
• 
  
• K-6 Creative Arts Syllabus
  • Units of Work
  • Units of Work - Further Worksamples
• Creative Arts K-6 Resources
• K-6 Creative Arts - Principal's Package
• K-6 Creative Arts Parents guide
• School Planning for the Creative Arts

The School Certificate Course Performance Descriptors (CPD)

VISUAL ARTS STAGE 6 SYLLABUS

BOARD OF STUDIES-LEGAL STUDIES

HSIE

PRIMARY SYLLABUS-

• K-6 HSIE Syllabus
• Units of Work
• Resource List
• Background Sheets and Visual Texts
• Proformas
• Principals Package
• Information for parents:
  • Parents Guide
  • Information flyers (available in 8 languages)
• Support document for students with Special Education needs
• K-6 HSIE Consultation Report

SCHOOL CERTIFICATE
Commerce Syllabus

School Certificate Australian History, Geography, Civics and Citizenship tests and related documents

H.S.C
Introduction to Legal Studies
Legal Studies Syllabus

ICT
Mapping of Information and Communications Technologies in Revised Mandatory Stages 4 and 5 Syllabuses

Technology (Mandatory)

Resources for Revision

Mandatory Respect and Responsibility-Promoting values in education

Aboriginal Educational Contexts

Special Education-Supporting teachers of students with special education needs

HSC: All My Own Work

GENERATION X

GENERATION X

It has been said that Generation X is the most ignored, misunderstood, and disheartened generation our country has seen in a long time

The term Generation X came from a book written in 1991 by Douglas Coupland by the same name. It is a fictional book about three strangers who decide to distance themselves from society to get a better sense of who they are. He describes the characters as "underemployed, overeducated, intensely private and unpredictable."

Coupland took his book's title from another book "Class," by Paul Fussell. Fussell used "X" to describe a group of people who want to pull away from class, status and money in society. Because the characters in Coupland's book fit that description, he decided on the title "Generation X."

The media found elements of Coupland's characters' lives in America's youth and labeled them Generation X. This stereotypical definition leads society to believe that Generation X is made up of cynical, hopeless, frustrated and unmotivated slackers who wear grunge clothing, listen to alternative music and still live at home because they cannot get real jobs. It is a label that has stuck, stereotypes and all.



WHAT WON'T MOTIVATE?

Generation X won't do things because they have a deep sense of mission, or loyalty to an organization. They have nothing but disdain for corporate politics and bureaucracy and don't trust any institution. They grew up watching their parents turn into workaholics, only to be downsized and restructured out of their chosen careers. They believe work is a thing you do to have a life (work doesn't define their life).

During the practice situations in our coaching workshops, the coach will often say-"Your behavior is affecting the company and if you don't change, we won't be in business in the long term." They raise the company flag and pull out the loyalty line. This means nothing to Xers-it will not capture their interest, raise their awareness, or stir them to new thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Xers have no expectation of job security, so they tend to see every job as temporary and every company as a stepping stone to something better, or at least to something else. They have been accused of not wanting to pay their dues. But, in today's changing workplace, anyone who is thinking about doing a job long enough to pay dues is out of touch!

Because they won't put in long hours at what they mostly term "dead end" jobs (Douglas Coupland coined the term "Mcjobs,") and they don't exhibit the same loyalty as Boomers do towards an organization, they have been called slackers. However, Xers will work very hard for a job that they believe in, for something that challenges them. In a l995 survey, Babson College Professor Paul Reynolds found that "10% of Americans between the ages of 25-34 are actively involved in creating a start-up company, a rate about three times as high as any other age group...it should help dispel once and for all the myth that today's youth are motivationally challenged." (U.S. News and World Report, September 23, 1996)

WHAT DOES MOTIVATE?

Value The Individual and Nurture Relationships. Although there doesn't seem to be one description of Generation X, most will agree that a defining characteristic is that they don't like to be characterized (as I'm doing in this article!). They don't want to be treated as a single entity, but want to be looked at as individuals. In addition, this is the first wave of latchkey kids to hit the work force. They are homesick for the home they never had (due to both parents working). Their focus on relationships over achievement is what leads Boomers to complain about their laziness. Isn't this strong sense of community and personal relationships in the workplace just what we need?

Challenging Work. This generation has sometimes been called the MTV Generation because of their short attention span. Xers want new challenges and the opportunity to build new skills. Training is one of the best motivators. They have a tremendous capacity to process lots of information and concentrate on multiple tasks.

They don't want to spend a lot of time talking about things or having meetings. They want to get in, do the work, and move on to the next thing. If you're looking for someone to deliver a report every week, you don't want an Xer. I recently brought up the subject of understanding twentysomethings during a coaching workshop. Immediately a manager complained, with a lot of emotion, that kids today don't want to work and will only stay for a week or so and then leave. Well, the job was very repetitive and offered little challenge. No wonder!

Freedom to Manage Time and Work. Xers don't want over-your-shoulder, in-your-face managers who constantly check what they're doing. Perhaps as a result of their latchkey childhood, these young workers are not used to being closely supervised and are remarkably good at working on their own.

Feedback and Recognition. On the other hand, members of Generation X seem to crave time with their bosses and can never get enough feedback on their performance. They may be searching for what was missing when they were growing up. Because of their short attention span, recognition and rewards must arrive quickly. Employee of the month doesn't do anything for them.

CONCLUSION

The characteristics for which Generation X has received such bad press are the very qualities that make them valuable. We say we want an empowered work force...give Xers the ball and they will run with it...we want a self-directed work force...these workers have been self directed from a very young age...we want computer literacy...Generation X comes out on top...we want flexible, adaptable workers-right on again.

Xers will respond to Boomer managers if they put meaning, into the buzzwords they use so often-empowerment, teamwork, communication. Create an environment where they are challenged by and enjoy their work, where they're measured on performance rather than on which clothes they wear, where they are informed, included and recognized. Gee, maybe Xers aren't so different from anyone else!

One of the most fundamental requirements for effective coaching is the ability to understand others' motives, values, and goals, not enforcing one's own on others. A slight variation of the Golden Rule-instead of "treating others as you want to be treated," coaches should "treat others as they want to be treated." This means understanding, and accepting, that people are all different. It also means that there is no "script" for coaching-it is different for every person you coach.

REFERENCES:

http://www.mccrindle.com.au/research.htm
http://www.coachingandmentoring.com/Articles/x's.html
http://www.jour.unr.edu/outpost/specials/genx.overvw1.html

GENERATION Y

Who is Gen Y?
There is no consensus over the exact birth dates that define Gen Y, also known by some as echo boomers and millennials. But the broadest definition generally includes the more than 70 million Americans born 1977 to 2002. Generation X was born roughly 1965 to 1976.
Narrower definitions put Gen Yers as those ages 16 to 27, born from 1978 to 1989. This narrower view is based on the thinking that as the pace of change in society accelerates, the time frame of a generation gets shorter.
Effect on workforce
Under the narrow definition, as they take their first jobs, Gen Y would be the fastest-growing segment of the workforce — growing from 14% of the workforce to 21% over the past four years to nearly 32 million workers.
About Gen Y workers
High expectations of self: They aim to work faster and better than other workers.
High expectations of employers: They want fair and direct managers who are highly engaged in their professional development.
Ongoing learning: They seek out creative challenges and view colleagues as vast resources from whom to gain knowledge.
Immediate responsibility: They want to make an important impact on Day 1.
Goal-oriented: They want small goals with tight deadlines so they can build up ownership of tasks.

Source: Bruce Tulgan of RainmakerThinking

Understanding and Managing Adolescents

The aim in the classroom is to manage every child.

Every day you can go without shouting adds up your credit....

We need to discover, what are they seeking, what do they want?
Are we adressing their needs?

Instead of the old adage, 'treat others as you would like to be treated', we could say, treat others as they would like to be treated.

We need to maximise learning of higher order learning by teaching critical reflection.

Recommended reading:"The Art of War" by Sun Tzu

Expectations of Generation Y

1.Provide challenging work that really matters.

2. Balance clearly delegated assignments with the freedom and flexibility to produce results in their own way.

3. Offer increasing responsibility as a reward for accomplishments

4.Spend time getting to know staff memgers and their capabilities.

5. Provide ongoing training and learning opportunities.

6. Establish mentoring relationships.

7. Create a comfortable low stress work environment.

8. Allow some flexible scheduling.

9. Be personable and joke around with the staff, while still getting the job done.

10.Balance the role of boss with team player

11.Treat them as colleagues not as interns assistant or teenagers.

12. Be respectful and call forth respect in return..

13. Consistently provide constructive feedback.
(Hattie- single most important ingredient for higher performance)

14. Let them know when they have done a good job.

There are fundamental differences in Generation Y's, in fact, their brain function is actually different, the way their neurons connect is different. They love to multitask, they hate to do one thing at a time. Although this could lead to superficial learning, their ability to network is fundamental-remember the connecter in the classroom! As they all have ipods and mobiles, it is a matter of getting them to use these appropriately.

The Y Gen are the clickerati, the thumb gen. , digital natives in a world where we are but digital immigrants.
Did you know that statistics state that in pulic schools in N.S.W students in years 7-10 are absent 25% of the time, while 50% are regularly absent. So the rate of attendance over 4 years, based on the figures, says 50% of students are only there for 2 years.
Why are these students not engaged? Is the solution being put forward of a back to basics curriculum relevant? Prehaps these trends are what's driving the increase in numbers being experienced by the private education system. It may well be that the state system in ten years will be where you go if you can't go anywhere else. The problems are social, economic, values, family, school culture and community. These problems are placed before us as educaters to inspire real solutions.

EDUCATION IN FINLAND

The Finnish education system is a comparatively egalitarian Nordic system, with no tuition fees for full-time students. Attendance is compulsory between the ages of 7 and 16, and free meals are served to pupils at primary and secondary levels. The first nine years of education (primary and secondary school) are compulsory, and the pupils go to their local school. In the OECD's international assessment of student performance, PISA, Finland has consistently been among the highest scorers worldwide; in 2003 Finnish 15-year-olds came first in reading literacy, mathematics, and science, while placing second in problem solving, worldwide. In tertiary education, the World Economic Forum ranks Finland #1 in the world in the enrollment and quality and #2 in math and science education.

The education after primary school is divided to the vocational and academic systems, according to the old German model. The systems do not traditionally interoperate, although some of the de jure restrictions have been recently lifted. In particular, an important difference to other systems is that there is no common "youth school" — ages 16-19 are spent either in a trade school, or in an academic-oriented upper secondary school. Trade school graduates may enter the workforce directly after graduation. Upper secondary school graduates are taught no vocational skills and are expected to continue to tertiary education. A national speciality in contrast to some foreign systems is the academic matriculation diploma (Abitur) received after successful completion of upper secondary school, which holds a high prestige.

As the trade school is considered a secondary school, the term "tertiary education" refers to institutes of higher learning, or what is generally considered university level elsewhere. Therefore, plain figures for tertiary level enrollment are not internationally comparable. The tertiary level is divided to the university and higher vocational school (ammattikorkeakoulu) systems, whose diplomas are not mutually interchangeable. Only universities award licentiates and doctorates. Traditionally only university graduates may obtain higher (postgraduate) degrees. The Bologna process has resulted in a some restructuring, where vocational degree holders can qualify for further studies by doing additional courses. There are 20 universities and 29 polytechnics in the country.

References: Rertieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programme_for_International_Student_Assessment
3.2.2007

PROGRAM FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ASSESSMENT

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a triennial world-wide test of 15-year-old schoolchildren's scholastic performance, developed by the Organization for Economic Co-peration and Development (OECD) in 1997.

The aim of the PISA study is to test and compare schoolchildren's performance across the world, with a view to improving and standardising educational methods.

NATIONAL CURRICULUM DEBATE-COMME

As the Federal election looms nearer the debate about a National Curriculum is gaining more attention and vigour. It would appear that the implementation of such a policy, not unlike the steamroller approach that saw the introduction of GST in Australia, is inevitable; as evidenced in the article Labor the lesser of two Evils, by Liberal Judith Wheeldon. So what will be the implications of such far reaching legislation?
National standards are being hailed as the great policy that will allow a more even playing field and see the state boundries as mere lines in the sand that students will no longer be effected by. I think that the ideal of everyone having a benchmark to strive toward and beyond is a good thing but find the argument of unity through homogenisation both erroneous and degrading. and in fact dangerous. The wonderful motto of the Indonesian government springs to mind- Unity through Diversity. Education today in this country is still being administered as a service, as opposed to a creative higher order venture moving towards experience and transformation.

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a triennial world-wide test of 15-year-old schoolchildren's scholastic performance, developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD in 1997. Australian education has been identified by PISA as lacking the intellectual ideals of evaluation, synthesis and analysis.
We already know that only 10% of Australian actually achieve higher order thinking.
The aim of the PISA study is to test and compare schoolchildren's performance across the world, with a view to improving and standardising educational methods.
Sadly, it already appears that the Australian government and policy advisers are one click out by limiting their identified standardising core values to mainstream academic subjects, totally negating what, in my opinion, is the darling of the Gods: the arts.
If such standardization as is being suggested is to occur, will it lead to a competitive market for ‘Core Value’ schools that become nothing more than a factory for achieving academic results that place the school on a nationally rated index thus entitling it to greater resources/funding. This reeks of intellectual elitism and could produce the most unbalanced dysfunctional generation this country has seen.
My other deep concern is how, for example. physics will be taught to 6-7 year olds. The implications appear to be that the ‘start em early’ policy will be adopted, thus seeing these wonderful enthusiastic children being treated as little adults. Didn’t Piaget warn us about this danger 100 years ago.
New Directions for our schools-Establishing a National Curriculum to improve our children's educational outcomes, is the Labor Party's document outlining the direction in which their policy is being developed. This document was actually developed 8 years ago under Mark Latham's influence. It occurred at a time when the knowledge economy was still the prevalent parlance of such coomodities, unlike the present climate of the creative economy.

NATIONAL CURRICULUM DEBATE

Labor the lesser evil

• COMMENT
  Judith Weeldon
• March 03, 2007

I CONTINUE to believe that the arguments against a national curriculum outweigh potential benefits. The danger of nationalising bad policy is significant; divisiveness among the states over who wins will be serious; the expense will not be insignificant; loss of intellectual diversity will be similar to loss of biodiversity.

But when both the Government and the alternative government choose to support a national curriculum, the best strategy for the voter is to choose the better option and try to influence what can be influenced.

This week, Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd and education spokesman Stephen Smith published Labor's new policy document, Establishing a national curriculum to improve our children's educational outcomes. In his 20-page easy-to-read statement, Rudd produces a policy with some strong features and an approach to national agreement that has a chance of working.

The most often heard argument for a national curriculum is consistency across the country to assist students who move interstate. Consistency is not only the hobgoblin of small minds; it is also a poor argument for a major change. Of the 80,000 students estimated to change states each year, only some experience avoidable difficulty due to different curriculums, and those are generally older students facing examinations on specific syllabuses. There are already many strategies to assist these students and their teachers if schools are sensitive and well-enough resourced. Centralising curriculum for this purpose is overkill.

A better argument is one based on international competitiveness, an idea that is prominent in Labor's policy, which gives ample evidence of the strength of Australian curriculums as revealed in international benchmarking, in which Australia holds a proud but not top place in each category.

Two countries that are consistently placed ahead of us in almost all categories and clearly do significantly better than Australia are Finland and South Korea. Why? What do they do that we don't?

The top students in all three countries are roughly equal but Finland and South Korea do much more to ensure all students reach their full potential. This achievement is not made suddenly in the senior years of school or by offering a few brilliant teachers so-called performance pay.

Solid achievement for all is built by many teachers, from pre-school through to Year 12, applying a sound curriculum that develops first-class fundamental skills and thinking ability that can be used in all other study: that is, primarily, literacy and numeracy. Foundation knowledge of history, science and literature are crucial, too. For this reason, the Labor policy has taken a brave and important step in offering a national curriculum that covers kindergarten to Year 12.

Take the example of science teaching, which is in crisis across Australia. We are not producing enough scientists or keeping the ones we have. We do not have a scientifically educated populace that is able to apply scientific principles to make good personal, political and economic judgments. As just two examples, consider alternative medicine and water recycling.

Labor's plan for a K-12 science curriculum is ambitious but well placed and suggests seriousness of purpose. A main reason for our difficulties in senior sciences today is that we fail utterly in teaching science in primary years. Almost no new primary teachers have any qualifications whatsoever in science; they seldom even have significant high school science. Thus they are not capable of recognising and developing the natural scientific thinking of young children that should grow into a love of science. A strong primary science curriculum supported by qualified specialist science teachers would, over the years, make a significant intellectual and economic change in Australia. Finding and educating these teachers will be a major challenge, but it can be done and is an urgent task. Serious curriculum imbalance can quickly develop when four disciplines are selected above others for national attention.

It is hard to imagine that national assessment, reporting and certification would not follow close behind the national curriculum. The same curriculum measured by different standards and reported in different terms will not achieve the goal of consistency across the country and equality in university entrance competition. A bitter battle can be expected on the issue of external examinations versus continuous assessment. This battle has been fought and different resolutions have been found in each state or territory. It will be essential that professional educators making these decisions put aside local pride and make judgments in the interests of the nation and its young people.

Once we have equivalent assessment and reporting, there will be great pressure for a national certificate as an easy way of communicating the achievements that can so easily be compared. When this happens, the elevation of the national courses will cause serious problems for the other subject areas that will seem to students, and especially to parents, less important and therefore will not be studied as seriously. Do we want to then embrace these subjects in the national curriculum, too, or are there other strategies? We need to discuss these problems now. The implications are huge and require a clear policy statement to match this one.

Rudd does not seem to value the creative arts, which hardly get a mention; I hope he fixes that. Similarly, biology (and probably geology) should be named alongside chemistry and physics.

Rudd does, however, recognise the very real conundrum of languages other than English, a giant weakness for a country that hopes to compete internationally. The solution will not be easy, but at least the Labor call for "a new policy approach" suggests we can look forward to a much-needed breakthrough in a funded policy that addresses one of our most embarrassing educational failures.

The best national curriculum will be meaningless if it cannot be adopted by the states and territories on the sole criterion of being the best. Political sparring, jealous guarding of present curriculums and point scoring will not produce success.

Education Minister Julie Bishop says she looks forward to winning the states' and territories' agreement to her plan by 2009. It is less clear what they are meant to agree to but, as Bishop points out, she has three years to convince the states. And if they are not convinced, she will withhold funding. Judging by national agreement to the sad requirement for A to E grading on school reports, she will win the argument through force and a national curriculum will become law.

Rudd has committed to a three-year program with $50 million in funding for representative experts from the states, territories and Catholic and independent schools to write the new curriculum. He outlines the process and the required qualifications of the writers. Labor will negotiate with state and territory governments when the impact on their education budgets is known and will provide funding accordingly. The government would need to be well prepared, for this will not be an inexpensive exercise.

This two-pronged approach of collaborative writing and funding is more likely to gain support than Coalition funding threats and claims the present curriculum comes "straight from chairman Mao". The Coalition has some valid criticisms of some curriculums but these get lost in hostility that obviates the possibility of fruitful negotiation with main participants.

If we have to have a national curriculum, the Labor policy at least brings a definite benefit in valuing the early years, including kindergarten, in its proposition. Labor's implementation strategy may be more palatable to the many who see benefit in both a national curriculum and states' rights.

If you are going to vote based on the better national curriculum proposal, Labor should give greater satisfaction. In seeking endorsement of the new curriculum through the Council of Australian Governments, it will be imperative that the new prime minister uses all his leadership skills to ensure those responsible at all levels have the best interests of children and of the Australian nation as their only priority. Otherwise a national curriculum could be a national disaster.

Judith Wheeldon is a former head of two private Sydney girls' schools, Abbotsleigh and Queenwood.

BLOOMS TAXONOMY FOR FUTURE EDUCATION

Remembering: can the student recall or remember the information?	define, duplicate, list, memorize, recall, repeat, reproduce state
Understanding: can the student explain ideas or concepts?	classify, describe, discuss, explain, identify, locate, recognize, report, select, translate, paraphrase
Applying: can the student use the information in a new way?	choose, demonstrate, dramatize, employ, illustrate, interpret, operate, schedule, sketch, solve, use, write.
Analysing: can the student distinguish between the different parts?	appraise, compare, contrast, criticize, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, examine, experiment, question, test.
Evaluating: can the student justify a stand or decision?	appraise, argue, defend, judge, select, support, value, evaluate
Creating: can the student create new product or point of view?	assemble, construct, create, design, develop, formulate, write.

UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME

Professor Allan Coman, Dean of Education, Sydney

MSc, BSc, MEd(Admin), DipEd

Professor Allan Coman has been appointed as the Foundation Dean of Education. Professor Coman is currently the Principal of Stella Maris College, a prestigious Catholic secondary college in Manly. He is greatly respected throughout the NSW Catholic education community as being a leader of exceptional vision and professional integrity.

Professor Coman’s new role will involve the development of courses, general management and recruitment of academic staff to serve the planned Bachelor of Education (Primary), Bachelor of Education (Secondary) and Graduate Diploma of Education qualifications, which will be offered by the University at Broadway from 2006.

University of Notre Dame.
Dates to Remember


sat 10-02-07
Sat 03-03-07
Sat 24-03-07
Sat 05-05-07
Sat 26-05-07
Sat 16-06-07
Sat 28-07-07
Sat 25-08-07
Sat 15-09-07
Sat 27-10-07
Sat 10-11-07
Sat 24-11-07

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