We were delighted to release QELi’s 2019 leadership development programs last week and announce the launch of three new programs in 2019 to complement our already extensive portfolio of more than 20 high-quality professional learning programs for educators in government and non-government schools and sectors in Queensland and across Australia. The new programs  ̶  Professional Certificate in Instructional Leadership, Practitioner Research Program and The Impact Cycle  ̶  involve collaborations with nationally and internationally recognised educators including Professor John Hattie and Professor Stephen Dinham, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne; Dr Jim Knight, the Instructional Coaching Group and Growth Coaching International (GCI); and Dr Annette Hilton and Dr Geoff Hilton.

I hope you enjoy this fortnight’s summary of news and research in education and, as always, I welcome any feedback about topics of interest that you might like to see QELi explore in greater detail.

Neil McDonald
Chief Executive Officer, QELi

Cultivating capabilities in Australian education

With a decade having passed since the Melbourne Declaration outlined the 21st century knowledge, skills and values that young learners should acquire during their school years, it is an opportune time to revisit the notion of capability. The capable country: Cultivating capabilities in Australian education was recently released by the Mitchell Institute and emphasises that capabilities such as critical thinking, resilience, and communication are not automatically developed but instead must be nurtured through the education system. The report acknowledges progress to date in early learning, school curriculum, secondary pathways and post-school education but argues that a capabilities curriculum and a nation-wide commitment to cultivate capabilities is necessary to prepare young people for success in later life.

Curriculum and general capabilities 

Also on the topic of curriculum and general capabilities, this piece by the Centre for Independent Studies argues that for New South Wales, the curriculum review is of greater importance that the funding debate and that in an ‘already crowded’ curriculum, general capabilities should not come at the expense of foundational skills and traditional subjects.

STEM ecosystem map

Teacher Magazine reports on a new STEM Ecosystem map released in Victoria, which provides an overview of resources, distance education opportunities, mentoring and partnership programs, and STEM-focussed schools. This follows the recent national report on inspiring industry-school partnerships in STEM recommended that resources and guidance on industry-school partnership be consolidated to make the process simpler for both schools and industry.

NAPLAN results: state-by-state report card

In Queensland, children in years 3 and 5 are approximately two months ahead of the national average in reading and one month ahead in numeracy, according to the Grattan Institute’s state-by-state report card. Their analysis of student progress based on NAPLAN school results also found that New South Wales stretches advantaged secondary students, Victoria accelerates progress of disadvantaged students, and notions of high-performing and underperforming systems are not supported by the data. The report, which is discussed in this podcast and unpacked in this article, contains great insight into the differences between states in terms of students’ learning progress, and suggests that a focus on identifying successful teacher practice and school policies would allow their success to be replicated.

Independent Public Schools initiative to continue

The Independent Public Schools initiative is set to continue in Queensland, following the completion of an independent evaluation of the program’s impact. The evaluation report identified factors in IPS schools that contribute positively to school improvement, including community partnerships, stronger parent engagement, and effective leadership. In accepting the report, the Government indicated that some aspects of the initiative could be rolled out to all state schools to strengthen local decision making.