School Leavers With Verified Disabilities

Globally, young adult employment rates have declined in the 21st century. In Australia, youth from non-metropolitan areas have a lower engagement rate in employment than their metropolitan peers, despite one rarely hearing declarations from school leavers that they aim to be unemployed and never work. This chapter investigates transition outcomes for young adults from a non-metropolitan area through a small retrospective study. The purpose is to identify influences that may impact youth engagement in employment or training for school leavers in a small town, and that may be dissimilar from influences affecting their metropolitan counterparts. Research also focuses on the influences affecting transition to employment for school leavers with verified disabilities in non-metropolitan areas and what barriers they experience to accessing employment or study.

Research and Reflective Practice in the Pre-Literate ESL Classroom

This chapter reports on findings of a qualitative study conducted with diverse cultural and linguistic background adult students engaged in learning English through an adult migrant English language program offered in a refugee welcome zone in a rural region of Australia. Twenty students whose first language was not English were observed in the language learning environment and participated in semi-structured interviews. The research explored how English language learning can be best supported for humanitarian refugees with little or no literacy in their first language to become acculturated and socially integrated into Australian society. It was found that the typical ‘English only approach' that is commonly used in the Adult Migrant English Language Program (AMEP) to teach literacy and develop proficiency in the English language is called into question when applied to learners with limited or no print literacy skills in their first language. It was concluded that these learners, who are commonly referred to in the literature as LESLLA (Low Educated Second Language Acquisition and Literacy for Adults), are faced with a number of social exclusionary practices during their integration process. Recommendations are made on how these issues might be addressed.

The Lost Art of Reading for Pleasure

Diving into a book and losing yourself in a world peopled by your imagination is a joy that lovers of literature have reveled in for as long as there have been stories. Whether people seek to be excited, terrified, challenged, entertained, or informed, it begins with the pleasure of reading a book. Learning to read is a cornerstone of educational achievement. How to encourage a passion for reading so children want to engage is poorly understood. The role parents play and how support is offered to parents to ensure inclusive, respectful, and responsive strategies that support all families requires investigation. The “read to your child every night” call is no longer enough. Teachers need the support of parents to look to innovative solutions. This chapter investigates how teachers can support parents by asking five diverse and geographically remote parents what works for them.

Inquiry Learning in the Primary Social Science Classroom

Inquiry learning is considered more effective than traditional teacher-led learning. Whilst teachers espouse ideals of inquiry learning, actual implementation and practice remains unclear, requiring further study. Inquiry learning research in primary schools is mostly contained to maths and science. Few studies have investigated how primary school teachers differentiate practice to meet the needs of students with learning difficulties. Even fewer studies have investigated primary school teachers' implementation of Humanities and Social Science (HASS) inquiry learning. This chapter investigates primary school teachers' practices of implementing HASS inquiry learning, including strategies used to support students with learning difficulties, and school based factors impacting the implementation of inquiry learning. One Queensland regional school was identified using a theory-based sampling method. Teachers were recruited using criterion sampling method. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews and demographic questionnaires; and HASS unit plans of three teachers (n=3) were synthesised into three themes: (i) teachers described a sense of professional fulfilment when implementing inquiry learning; (ii) teachers implemented specific strategies including explicit instruction to differentiate learning for students with learning difficulties; and (iii) school-based factors including leadership endorsement impact on successful implementation of inquiry learning in a primary school. Data obtained from the single school and small sample limit generalisability, therefore future research regarding teachers' implementation of HASS inquiry learning is recommended. Identification of strategies that support students with learning difficulties, and the impact of HASS inquiry learning on achievement amongst students with and without learning difficulties, are also recommended.

The Pedagogical Possibilities of Critically Examining Gender and Sexuality in Initial Teacher Education Through the Lens of Intersex

Although pre-service Health and Physical Education (HPE) teachers may be acquainted with media headlines categorizing intersex bodies as “deviant,” “non-biological,” “different,” and/or “non-natural” in their reporting on eligibility testing in women's elite sports, few appear to be familiar with what intersex includes and what these tests were designed to reveal. Drawing on Evan and Rich's advocacy to critically analyse body-policies with strong normative body-pedagogies, this chapter unpacks how athletes marked by this category cannot be understood as separate from the corporeal instructions and ‘authorities' that mark and regulate their bodily representation. The chapter inspires and encourages HPE teachers to take the ‘risk' of engaging students in disruptive practices which explore the inscription of power onto particular bodies and abilities in sports and how they as both pedagogues and members of society are all ethically implicated in these relations of power.

Focusing Effective Feedback Practices on Developing Students' ‘Assessment Literacy'

This chapter investigated effective feedback practices that develop assessment literacy of the high school gifted and talented in an inclusive environment. Gifted and talented were identified by their fluency of content and flexibility of curriculum areas, with the purpose for feedback to build student capacity for assessment literacy. A conceptual method included the aim for actionable feedback that extended the gifted and talented in their assessment literacy. Efficient feedback that developed assessment literacy included a feed-forward focus, metacognition development, and task-orientated understanding of the criteria. The study emphasised implementation strategies to build student capacity in utilising the feedback provided to its greatest effect. Ultimately, to improve assessment literacy, the use of exemplars to develop metacognition and improve criteria knowledge through strategic calibration of self-assessment were successful strategies used as part of teacher feedback.

Inclusivity and the Education of Children of Defence Forces Personnel

Australian Defence Force (ADF) members' children present as a unique subpopulation of students. These students often experience schooling interruption as a result of posting (relocation) mobility inherent within the service requirements of their ADF parents. This chapter explores the impact of such mobility and interrupted schooling on educational achievement. Educational achievement consists of two key aspects: Social-emotional outcomes and Academic outcomes. Social-emotional outcomes are currently supported through the Defence Support Mentor (DSM) program. Academic outcomes are examined through the lens of Reading/Literacy testing results and Mathematics testing results. Academic achievement for ADF children impacted by mobility and schooling interruption remains largely unexplored within the Australian context. A conceptual framework is presented, which identifies potential causes of negative impacts upon ADF students' academic achievement.

Enabling and Empowering Inclusion Through Partnerships With Families, School, and Community

The chapter offers an innovative insight into several strategies that can be implemented to enable and empower inclusion within the context of family, school, and community. The chapter also highlights various theories and frameworks that can be operationalized to lead to greater inclusion within an educational context. The author focuses on the need for policymakers to consider rights-based approaches for inclusion within a framework for parents and students to be self-advocates. The approaches suggested will require a team-based approach for enabling and empowering inclusion.

Catering for the Specialized Needs of Students With Vision Impairment in Mainstream Classes

Thousands of students with vision impairment or blindness attend mainstream schools in Australia. Their experiences depend on multiple pertinent factors, including teachers' understanding of the legal requirements to abide by the inclusive education agenda, schools' understanding of the nature of vision impairments, and the challenges they present to learning. Educators' willingness to take on advice regarding adjustments to the curriculum, assessment, technology, and learning environment are also critical to success for such students. This chapter puts forward the voices of students with vision impairment or blindness to provide a picture of the types of alternative formats used in schools today, including braille and assistive technologies. The voices share how important it is for students to be included in all areas of their education to achieve a sense of belonging and acceptance affording them true inclusion. A list of practical recommendations to assist teachers encourage inclusion academically, socially, and physically is detailed in this chapter.

Case Study Method and Research Design

Case study is prominent in qualitative research literature, yet the methodologists do not have a full consensus on whether it is an approach, a method, a methodology, or a design. Perhaps this flexibility contributes to ambiguity for the burgeoning researcher. The works of prominent methodologists, namely Robert Yin, Sharan Merriam, and Robert Stake, are explored as an attempt to define case study and then explain how it can be utilized as a ‘road map' for engaging case study to investigate current practices in inclusivity and wellbeing. The author serves as a provocateur and explores the question: “How do you surface deep knowledge in your interview participants?” This chapter contributes knowledge to the field of research, specifically methodological information for the novice researcher considering using case study as a research method. Dually, this chapter brings into focus examples of case study method applied to explore inclusion and wellbeing.