I am delighted to be sharing this fortnightly news and insight blog, offering short summaries of the latest news and studies, reports, and opinions across the education arena. If there is a topic, report or event you would like QELi to explore, please email your thoughts to marketing@qeli.qld.edu.au. 

Neil McDonald
Chief Executive Officer, QELi

Inclusive school practices

Everyone has the right to safe working conditions and environments including children. This right is not negated by misbehaviour or convenience, or because a child’s removal from a situation or classroom will make the rest of the class easier to manage. In this article – published by the Australian Association for Research in Education – Jenna Gillett-Swan, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Education, QUT, argues working in partnership with students supports a rights centred approach to education in fostering the “development of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms” while enabling “the spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance, equality… and friendship among all…” 

Are you responsible for leading inclusion in your school? Have you considered registering for QELi’s Leading Inclusive Practices Program? The program focuses on strengthening the capacities of leaders who lead inclusive practices, to grow in their leadership, support, engagement and motivation of teachers to achieve the best results for all students in schools.  

Trust, collaboration and school improvement

In recent years, research has uncovered valuable, consistent evidence about what makes some schools unusually successful. Although there is no silver bullet, the research points to specific organisational practices, particularly collaboration, as integral to improving student outcomes. This article shares research, readings and resources focusing on collaboration.

Effective questioning in the classroom

Earlier this year, Dylan Wiliam, Emeritus Professor of Educational Assessment at University College London, spoke with Jo Earp, Teacher Magazine about effective questioning in the classroom. During the podcast, Dylan explains what’s wrong with the traditional teacher approach of ‘I’ll ask a question and you put your hands up to answer’, shares a classroom display technique called ‘the parking lot’, and describes how to plan your lesson around checkpoints that he calls ‘hinge questions’.

Dylan Wiliam will be returning to Australia later in the year to present his highly-acclaimed thought leader events, Leadership for Teacher Learning in Brisbane (Friday 30 August 2019) and Embedding Formative Assessment in Cairns (Monday 2 September 2019). 

Teachers’ workload and resilience

In this article, Dr Carolyn Timms, Psychology Lecturer, College of Healthcare Science, Division of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University discusses research studies currently examining teachers’ workload and resilience, particularly workload and issues at work on new teachers’ ability to switch-off, achieve psychological recovery and maintain their enthusiasm for their work. In view of previous research findings that supportive leadership contributes a great deal to teachers’ mental health and resilience, Dr Timms and her research team are especially interested in exploring new teachers’ experiences with school leadership teams and mentoring staff.

Independent schooling sector: governance professional development   

The independent schooling sector is diverse with many organisational and governing arrangements. Governing bodies of independent schools face the challenge in understanding and governing in a complex regulatory and economically competitive environment. The skills and experiences of governors are critical to the growth, health and innovative spirit of the sector and for education provision. Boards that undertake board training together, as a group, benefit by engaging with each other, and with an expert facilitator who can use circumstances and examples relevant to school’s operational environment. 

Independent Schools Queensland (ISQ) offer school governors a broad range of technical programs and specialist training, structured modules and short courses as well as customised consultancy services, to assist directors to build and improve their capacity in school governance practices.