E-NEWS 6 to 8 September [1] Paperwork getting in the way of teaching: survey By Primrose Riordan 8 September 2014 Canberra Times - Page A001 Paperwork getting in the way of teaching: survey HEAVY WEIGHT: Nina Leuning enjoys teaching but, like many of her counterparts, increasingly has to tend to several of her duties after school hours. Photo: MELISSA ADAMS By Primrose Riordan [2] Hard choices lie ahead for tertiary reforms Opinion Geoff Sharrock 8 September 2014 The Australian Financial Review - Page 12 in Education Section. Crunch time is coming for the governments higher education reforms. Having passed in the House of Representatives, the legislation will be kicked around the Senate like the football it has become. What would good policy tradeoffs look like? The accompanying table shows the package as a balancing act of spending and saving. Politically, the odds are stacked against the three major reforms: higher HELP loan interest rates (Policy 7), cuts to the amount of public subsidy (Policy 6) and fee deregulation (Policy 5). [3] Murray urged to support literacy James Eyers 8 September 2014 The Australian Financial Review - Page 28 in Financial Services Section. Many victims of financial fraud, or buyers of financial products that are simply inappropriate, lack basic financial literacy. As financial services become increasingly complex, and as more and more Australians seek to control their retirement incomes through self-managed super funds or by engaging financial advisers, lifting financial literacy is becoming increasingly important. The third annual MoneySmart Week took place around Australia last week. It seeks to provide the financially illiterate with basic information about finance and products, enabling them to ask the right questions of advisers and institutions, and avoid becoming prey. [4] Data point VET spend suffers in NSW, Qld, SA Tim Dodd 8 September 2014 The Australian Financial Review - Page 11 in Education Section. State governments have the main responsibility for vocational education and training (VET). However, NSW, Queensland and SA have failed to increase real spending in line with growth in student numbers over the past decade. NSW made its most recent TAFE cuts to help fund Gonski school reforms. Even though Victoria , WA and Tasmania have increased VET spending, overall government spending in this area (including by the federal government) dropped 25 per cent in real terms from 1999 to 2011. [5] NTEU concerned by casual staff increase Tim Dodd 8 September 2014 The Australian Financial Review - Page 11 in Education Section. Australian universities have cut labour costs by hiring more low-level casual teaching staff. According to a policy note to be released by the Group of Eightuniversities this week, 77 per cent of casual teachers are low level in 2012, compared to 63 per cent in 2002. [6] Labors chance to govern from opposition Education observed Tim Dodd 8 September 2014 The Australian Financial Review - Page 11 in Education Section. Clive Palmer has said absolutely clearly that his senators wont vote for Christopher Pynes higher education reforms. The Greens wont either, so, as long as Palmer sticks with his refusal to negotiate, the spotlight is on a suddenly empowered Labor party. Labor has a choice. It can show up for the game and use its new-found muscle to force a serious debate with Pyne over higher education. [7] Culture key to Chinese students success - whoever teaches them Trevor Cobbold 8 September 2014 The Age - Page 26 in Education Section. New research has refuted claims that differences in teacher quality are the primary reason for the large difference in international test results between Shanghai and Australia . It shows that Chinese immigrant students in Australia (and New Zealand ) achieve similar math scores to students in Shanghai . The study suggests culture appears to have been more important than national policies. [8] Go8 unis back help to fund regionals ANDREW TROUNSON 8 September 2014 The Australian - Page 5 in TheNation Section. EXCLUSIVE ELITE universities have backed concerns that deregulating fees will hurt regional institutions and supported calls for a regional financial support package. The Group of Eightuniversities also called on Education Minister Christopher Pyne to fund regional scholarships to win Senate support for the government’s plans to deregulate fees. [9] Alternative high school offers new hope Amy McNeilage 8 September 2014 The Sydney Morning Herald - Page 10 in News Section. Success stories - Chance for homeless young people to get back on education track Concentrating on trigonometry can be a struggle for any teenager, let alone those with young children, drug addictions and no bed to go home to. Report URL google.au/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&ved=0CDMQFjAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fdusseldorp.org.au%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2014%2F09%2FVictoria-Institue-1-7-MB.pdf&ei=PusMVM_FFcqiugTyoYGABA&usg=AFQjCNGQ1YP3A9sh6dAU8dz1faRTgMugBg&sig2=xXNs6j25CPIWeAbXC4eilw&bvm=bv.74649129,d.c2E&cad=rja [10] Students hurting in a cry for help BRUCE McDOUGALL education reporter 7 September 2014 Daily Telegraph - Page 13 in News Section. TWO school children per week in NSW are self harming or threatening to injure themselves as a result of bullying and mental health problems. Serious incident reports collated by the Education Department reveal mentally disturbed students have climbed on to school roofs, while others have stabbed themselves, swallowed substances or run in front of cars. [11] Age no barrier to free-range learning Benjamin Preiss 7 September 2014 Sunday Age - Page 3 in News Section. By his own reckoning, Peter Hutton was Templestowe College s last chance when he was brought in five years ago as principal. Since then, flexibility has been at the centre of his efforts to turn the school around. Students are largely responsible for their own learning, and the college recently created headlines for introducing staggered starting times for students. [12] Abuse classes skipped CALLA WAHLQUIST 7 September 2014 The Sunday Times ( Perth ) - Page 18 in News Section. WA schools are failing to deliver child abuse awareness classes because “the timetable is too full”, a senior Education Department adviser says. The department’s principal child protection consultant, Megan Rimes, said she was aware of some schools that did not fully deliver the compulsory program because of time constraints. [13] CUTS TO TRIPS, SPORTS, MUSIC, LITERACY, NUMERACY EXCLUSIVE CLAIRE BICKERS 7 September 2014 The Sunday Times ( Perth ) - Page 22 in News Section. Schools tell grim tale EXCURSIONS, sports carnivals, student bands and remedial literacy and numeracy programs have been axed at WA schools because of budget cuts. A grassroots campaign by WA parents shows how they see the effects of cuts in “storybooks” that are being sent to Education Minister Peter Collier. Forty-nine Parents and Citizens Associations have written a storybook that lists how financial cutbacks have hurt their schools. [14] Home-schooling parents lash out at registration process Eryk Bagshaw 6 September 2014 The Sydney Morning Herald - Page 11 in News Section. Home-schooling parents have lashed out at the registration process in a NSW upper house inquiry, describing it as onerous and unfair, and saying it is turning away families that could otherwise be in the system. Fairfax Media reported last month that up to 10,000 children in NSW were being home schooled, but only 3238 are registered by the Board of Studies. [15] Delayed school start pays off in top countries BRUCE McDOUGALL 6 September 2014 The Advertiser - Page 25 in News Section. COUNTRIES that blitz the world in international literacy and numeracy tests are starting their children at school up to 2½ years later than Australian students. Children in the pace-setting Finnish schools do not start formal lessons until they are seven and students in the leading Asian countries that outperform Australia do not go until they are six or seven. [16] Early education funding: Commonwealth extends agreement to cover 2015 By Social Affairs Correspondent Norman Hermant and Stephanie Dalzell 5 September 2014 Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) News The Federal Government will commit hundreds of millions of dollars to extend a funding deal covering 15 hours of preschool per week in 2015. The Federal Government will commit hundreds of millions of dollars to extend a funding deal covering 15 hours of early education classes a week in 2015. [17] Palmer party to block university deregulation 5 September 2014 heraldsun.au Clive Palmer says govt should abolish university fees, have free higher education system. The Palmer United Party will not vote for the federal governments contentious higher education laws. [18] FED:Nationals seek more help for regional unis 5 September 2014 Australian Associated Press General News UNIVERSITIES By Katina Curtis CANBERRA , Sept 5 AAP - Nationals MPs are quietly lobbying Education Minister Christopher Pyne in a bid to ensure regional universities get a fair deal under his higher education reforms. [19] Forcing schools to set by ability is not backed up by evidence Chris Husbands, Director of the Institute of Education and Professor of Education at Institute of Education, University of London 4 September 2014 The Conversation There is a political consensus around putting children into sets according to their ability: that politicians believe they know what is best for schools. Michael Gove, when he was opposition spokesman on education, said[conservatives/%7E/media/Files/Green%20Papers/Schools_Policy_Paper.ashx?dl=true], “Each pupil should be given the opportunity to learn in accordance with their particular aptitude and ability … we believe that setting by ability is the only solution to achieving this ambition.” David Cameron, as leader of the opposition, said[theguardian/education/2006/jan/09/schools.uk2], “I want to see setting in every single school. Parents know it works. Teachers know it works. Tony Blair promised it in 1997. But it still hasn’t happened. We will keep up the pressure till it does.” [20] Don’t dismiss MOOCs – we are just starting to understand their true value Neil Morris, Professor of Educational Technology, Innovation and Change in the School of Education and Director of Digital Learning at University of Leeds 4 September 2014 The Conversation Over the past couple of years, massive open online courses (MOOCs) have taken the academic world by storm. Despite much debate[newyorker/magazine/2013/05/20/laptop-u] about whether the idea of running free online courses for everyone is both a good and cost-effective idea in the long-run, MOOCs are teaching universities valuable lessons about how students want to learn. In a recent article[timeshighereducation.co.uk/comment/opinion/five-myths-about-moocs/2010480.article] for Times Higher Education that shocked many academics, Diane Laurillard claimed “free online courses that require no prior qualifications or fee are a wonderful idea but are not viable”. [21] Which cap fits? Putting a ceiling on university fees Gavin Moodie, Adjunct professor at RMIT University 4 September 2014 The Conversation In all of the debate about the government’s plans for higher education, what people seem to worry about most is the prospect of ballooning student fees, with predictions of A$100,000 degrees[nteu.org.au/article/%24100,000-University-Degrees-Not-Too-Far-Away--16191] or more. So why doesn’t the government just cap fees?[theaustralian.au/higher-education/hecs-designer-bruce-chapman-calls-for-action-to-limit-fee-rises/story-e6frgcjx-1227045452598] It seems simple enough, but the reality is more complex. There are basically three views on capping fees.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 05:49:18 +0000
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