IE#1 2022

independent education issue 1 | Vol 52 | 2022

A I V I L O ODER InFocus

R G R A H

The professional voice of the Independent Education Union of Australia

Uluru Statement from the Heart Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tribes were the first sovereign Nations of the Australian continent and its adjacent islands, and possessed it under our own laws and customs. This our ancestors did, according to the reckoning of our culture, from the Creation, according to the common law from ‘time immemorial’, and according to science more than 60,000 years ago.

This sovereignty is a spiritual notion: the ancestral tie between the land, or ‘mother nature’, and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who were born therefrom, remain attached thereto, and must one day return thither to be united with our ancestors. This link is the basis of the ownership of the soil, or better, of sovereignty. It has never been ceded or extinguished, and co-exists with the sovereignty of the Crown.

How could it be otherwise? That peoples possessed a land for sixty millennia and this sacred link disappears from world history in merely the last two hundred years?

With substantive constitutional change and structural reform, we believe this ancient sovereignty can shine through as a fuller expression of Australia’s nationhood.

Proportionally, we are the most incarcerated people on the planet. We are not an innately criminal people. Our children are aliened from their families at unprecedented rates. This cannot be because we have no love for them. And our youth languish in detention in obscene numbers. They should be our hope for the future.

These dimensions of our crisis tell plainly the structural nature of our problem. This is the torment of our powerlessness.

We seek constitutional reforms to empower our people and take a rightful place in our own country. When we have power over our destiny our children will flourish. They will walk in two worlds and their culture will be a gift to their country.

We call for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution.

Makarrata is the culmination of our agenda: the coming together after a struggle. It captures our aspirations for a fair and truthful relationship with the people of Australia and a better future for our children based on justice and self-determination.

We seek a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations and truth-telling about our history.

In 1967 we were counted, in 2017 we seek to be heard. We leave base camp and start our trek across this vast country. We invite you to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future.

Endorsed by:

The great digital divide Internet access inequities existed before the COVID-19 pandemic, but its onslaught has only exacerbated the gap.

We talk to the people trying to close it.

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independent education issue 1 | Vol 52 | 2022

Executive Editors Terry Burke Deb James Carol Matthews Managing Editor Monica Crouch Editorial Committee Will Brodie Kylie Busk Emily Campbell Monica Crouch Sue Osborne Pam Smith Jessica Willis Journalists Will Brodie Emily Campbell Monica Crouch Sue Osborne Jessica Willis About us IE is the professional journal of the Independent Education Union of Australia. It is published for members and subscribers and has a circulation of approximately 70,000. The contents of this journal do not necessarily reflect the views of the IEUA or the editors nor imply endorsement by them.

IE online www.ieu.asn.au/publications/ Contributions Contributions from members are welcome. Printing does not reflect endorsement and contributions may be edited at the editor’s discretion.

Email iemagazine@ieu.asn.au Advertising Chris Ruddle (02) 8202 8900 chrisr@ieu.asn.au Advertising is carried in IE in order to minimise costs.

Advertising does not in any way reflect endorsement of the products or services.

Subscriptions IE is available free to members of IEU, or by subscription, contact Tania Yardley tania@ieu.asn.au (02) 8202 8900 Print Post Number 100007506 NSW and ACT Teachers Reading this publication may count as PD. Professional reading can be included as part of your PD or PL for maintenance purposes. Remember to log your professional reading with NESA or TQI. For more information refer to NESA or TQI websites.

AUSWIDE

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News and views from around Australia

InFocus: Olivia Hargroder

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Meet the athlete, actor and disability rights advocate changing the Paralympics

International Women’s Day

This year’s theme highlights how women are responding to climate change

Normalising disfluency

IEU member Vikesh Anand is celebrating diversity through speech

Teaching Digital Technologies

IEU member gets connected with challenging curriculum area

Fighting for secure jobs

Why we’re campaigning for stable, reliable employment

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10 14 16

NCCD breakthrough

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Nexus program

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A comprehensive look at the IEU’s big workload-reducing outcome Attracting professionals from other careers into teaching

Forget the history wars, go big

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History repeating

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What (education) stories get published and why

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Digital citizenship and media literacy

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Re-imagining assessment in Australian schools

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The case for financial education in schools

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Pointing to a new way of learning

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How we see the past and what we teach our students Have Australia’s history wars been reignited?

We talk to the journalists covering education in the mainstream media

Teaching our youg people how to read the news

The gap between what we measure and what matters to us as a society

The lifelong impacts of good financial literacy

New research reinforces Montessori’s finger tracing theory

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Editorial In an era when misinformation flourishes, understanding the media and how to get your message across has never been more important. This first edition of IE for 2022 addresses a range of issues related to news and communications.

Give truth a chance!

With lies and propaganda prolific across the internet and social media, helping students spot fake news is vital. Read how teachers can foster media literacy and help young minds deal with a complex world of competing opinions and ‘facts’ (p28).

Enhanced media literacy is not much use if you can’t connect to the internet.

Lockdowns during 2020-21 revealed a stark digital divide between those with access to devices and wi-fi and those without.

Our feature examines initiatives aimed at shutting that information gap (p12).

It’s also difficult to teach such topics if your own digital skills are not up to scratch. Our report on the Digital Technologies in Focus project, designed to upskill teachers, shows that investing in teacher development improves student engagement and achievement, particularly in disadvantaged schools (p14).

Overloaded Australian teachers know there is less time for developing such skills because they are increasingly occupied in administrative tasks and data collection.

A prime example is the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) on school students with disability, which has exacerbated the educator workload crisis.

We address what can be done on p17.

Three in four people still turn to traditional media for their news, and if you have a message to get out there it pays to understand what editors choose to cover and why. On p26, we speak to working journalists and editors to discover what they need and what they want to publish.

Polymath Olivia Hargroder is no stranger to successful campaigning. The talented swimmer, equestrian and former Queensland Australia Day Ambassador is a passionate advocate for the rights of people with Down Syndrome and people with disabilities. Read about her amazing journey through sport, acting, and advocacy in our In Focus feature on p6.

These are just some of the highlights of a timely, compelling edition of IE. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we did compiling it for you.

Deb James

General Secretary IEU Victoria Tasmania Branch iemagazine@ieu.asn.au

Join the IEU 4 | independent education | issue 1 | Vol 52 | 2022

Northern Territory

Wages negotiations last stumbling block Negotiations for replacement collective agreements in both the NT Catholic and NT Lutheran sectors continue in 2022, with wages being the last major outstanding issue for members.

The NT Government has imposed a wage freeze policy over four years and is offering employees in the public sector a one-off ‘bonus’ of $10,000 – but this does not lift wage rates.

The Essington School is also set to commence bargaining this year, with members demanding the new collective agreement provide further clarification on teachers’ non-contact time.

The school’s current agreement specifies teaching hours and release time, with non-contact duties listed, but not part of a teacher’s ‘directed hours’. Improvements include specifying hours needed for professional duties such as staff meetings, professional development (PD) and supervision duties.

Last year, St Philip’s College members achieved wage increases for teachers equivalent to the 2.5% public sector increase.

The college’s Chapter also secured a clause stopping the employer discriminating due to religious doctrine – a positive outcome given employers can do this under the current NT Anti-Discrimination Act.

Queensland

School officer classifications under review The review of the school officer classification structure continues in 2022, with the Joint Working Group starting ‘job analysis’ to assess the workability of the new model.

Comprehensive and accurate position descriptions for school officer roles are of critical importance. Without these, it will be impossible to make accurate classification decisions to recognise the contemporary work school officers are undertaking.

Our union’s initial review of the adequacy of current position descriptions revealed alarming deficiencies. The IEU is undertaking detailed job analysis with a group of school officers to assess the reality of their roles fully. This process involves interviews with each school officer member and a comprehensive review of their duties, skills and responsibilities to develop a detailed job analysis.

Queensland Catholic school employers remain engaged in the review process. The current phase is crucial as the parties move towards a final assessment of the new model.

The timeline for the negotiation of replacement Queensland Catholic collective agreements will be a key consideration in formalising the new model and possible implementation in schools.

South Australia

Staggered start to the year SA schools settled for a graduated start to the year. The IEU’s preference would have been to delay all year levels for two weeks, but this was not to be.

Consequently, there was no time to establish the procedures and protocols for a safe return, particularly in the Catholic sector, where procedures are more standardised.

The staggered start and attendance of essential workers’ children raised the spectre of teachers being asked to teach in ‘dual mode’, that is, simultaneous face-to-face and online teaching or repeating the face-to-face lesson online at another time.

Government sector teachers were clear this would not occur, and

our three sectors agreed. Even if parents demand online instruction for absent students, schools will have to say ‘no’.

We have established that supplying surgical masks is an employer’s WHS responsibility, but we are still in dispute over the applicability of the ‘Infectious Diseases’ clause in the Catholic sector.

The independent sector advice to schools is that claims should be accepted. Never has the need for elected Health and Safety Reps in each school been more evident.

Ventilation audits conducted by schools seem to consist of tallying rooms with windows, but no practical outcomes.

detailed lesson plans that consume professional time.

Changes to the Teacher Accreditation Act will also result in proposed amendments to the role of schools and employer-based Teacher Accreditation Authorities. The aim is to improve consistency and provide a more equitable accreditation experience for teachers across sectors.

The IEU will advocate for transparent policies that bind employers to a streamlined model.

Our recent success reducing NCCD requirements (see p17) will be a strong reference point for consultation with employers and accrediting authorities.

Union defeats pandemic opportunists The IEU recorded two big succeses at Peninsula Grammar in February.

First, the school agreed to pay four IEU non-teaching staff members for the period they were stood down during the 2020 COVID lockdown.

The matter, due for a hearing in the Federal Court, was settled outside court, with Peninsula Grammar incurring six-figure legal costs after fighting for nearly two years.

“The total amount in dispute here was around $20,000 in wages for some of the lowest paid staff in the school,” said IEU Victoria Tasmania General Secretary Deb James.

The result sent a strong message to any school tempted to use the pandemic as an opportunity to cut staff wages.

The IEU will pursue them doggedly to uphold the legal rights of our members.

Secondly, Peninsula Grammar was found guilty of “unconscionable conduct” after failing to honour fee discounts of $300,000 promised to a senior teacher with children at the school. The ruling should cost the school over $100,000 in payouts and legal fees.

James said the only financial impact of the pandemic on the school had been “the huge legal bills they’ve amassed trying unsuccessfully to squeeze their own employees out of their legitimate entitlements”.

School boards overstep Independent schools are diverse in nature but almost all independent schools in Western Australia are governed by a board and headed by a chairperson.

Notwithstanding that a board’s primary role is to provide support and direction to the school, it has become apparent that boards are generally overstepping their boundaries. In WA, Independent School Boards have been seen to continuously and unjustifiably interfere in the dayto-day running of schools and school decisions.

This overstep has seen principals and staff bullied, harassed and treated unfairly. It has also led to breaches in staff contracts of employment as school boards often lack the required industrial understanding of the contractual framework educators work within.

Board-related issues have resulted in the IEUWA filing numerous claims in the Fair Work Commission in an attempt to mitigate the effects on our members.

Victoria

New South Wales

Equity in accreditation Workload issues are still high on the IEU’s priority list.

After years of lobbying by both the IEU and the NSW Teachers Federation, and the convergence of several key reports, the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) is moving to address compliance regulations within school registration processes that impact on workloads.

These reports include the NSW Curriculum Review: Nurturing wonder and igniting passion (Masters Review, 2020); Valuing the teaching profession: An independent inquiry (Gallop Report, 2021); and Making time for great teaching: How better government policy can help (Grattan Institute Report, 2022) NESA’s work is in its infancy, but will eventually affect the core teacher work of programming. The IEU will advocate strongly for the restoration of professional documentation that relies on line of sight, rather than narrative texts or

Western Australia

Australian Capital Territory

Regulatory body to recognise early childhood teachers The Teacher Quality Institute (TQI) has been consulting widely on how to provide professional registration for early childhood teachers — a commitment of the ACT Government.

TQI consultation sessions in 2021 focused on what regulatory framework would promote quality teaching in the early years and lead to better outcomes for children.

Participants supported a single register as the TQI doesn’t distinguish between primary and secondary teachers. Teachers are teachers. There was support for: • a four-year qualification (or one that TQI recognises as equivalent); this would also take into account existing three-year trained teachers • ECTs to meet the same professional learning requirements as teachers in schools (20 hours per year), and a need for appropriate professional learning • guidance material to expand the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers to include ECTs • keeping the TQI Code of Professional Practice the same while considering support for new graduates and those returning to teaching after a break.

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Disability rights advocate and entertainment all-star Olivia Hargroder has already achieved so much, writes Emily Campbell.

She is a dancer, actor, athlete, social justice activist and public speaker with a contagious enthusiasm and determination to smash goals.

The 22-year-old woman from Redcliffe, north of Brisbane, has addressed the United Nations (UN) Congress, represented her state in competitive swimming and starred in several stage and screen productions.

Olivia also has Down Syndrome. She has faced a range of health problems as a result, including multiple openheart surgeries and knee operations.

Despite these obstacles, Olivia is committed to showing others that people with a disability can live a fulfilling, high-achieving life.

A I V I L O ODER InFocus:

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Photo: Sarah Clarke

Change the Box campaign As an accomplished competitive swimmer, Olivia represented Moreton North and Queensland in the Special Olympics, winning gold in the 100-metre freestyle event at the nationals in Adelaide.

It was Olivia’s competitive swimming that inspired her Change the Box campaign, through which she is advocating for the Paralympics to include a new category for athletes with Down Syndrome.

Olivia, who has been swimming since she was little, believes diverse representation in sport is important, prompting her to create a petition calling on the President of the Australian Paralympic Committee to implement more inclusive policies.

“Currently, people with Down Syndrome are at a disadvantage in the Paralympics,” Olivia said.

“There are three separate categories – or boxes – for athletes in the Paralympics, which are physical impairment, visual impairment and intellectual impairment.

“Down Syndrome athletes currently have to compete in the intellectual impairment category, which means we are up against others who are able-bodied, bigger and stronger than us.”

Olivia explained that people with Down Syndrome also have physical impairments, so they face more barriers than athletes who have an intellectual disability alone. These include muscular and joint issues, visual impairment, cardio and thyroid problems and short limbs.

“We are at a disadvantage competing against able-bodied people in the intellectual impairment category, because people with Down Syndrome have physical disabilities

Photos: Highflyer Images

“People with Down Syndrome competing in the Paralympics and being represented is one of my dreams – I hope to compete one day.” too, so they never make the team,” Olivia said.

“That’s why we need to have our own fourth, separate box for intellectual and physical disability, so things are fair.

“You will hardly see a swimmer with Down Syndrome in the Paralympics, however dedicated or talented they are. But there are around 8 million of us around the world – we need our own box.

“That would be fair. That would give us something to work for and train like a champion.

“That would give people with Down Syndrome role models we can relate to.”

The petition has gained more than 6000 signatures, with many high-profile people backing the cause, including British pop stars Harry Styles and Niall Horan, US Olympic diver Greg Louganis and former Governor General of Australia Dame Quentin Bryce.

Addressing the UN In 2017, Olivia attended the UN Congress in New York and delivered a speech for World Down Syndrome Day, during which she brought international awareness to Change the Box. “This campaign is really close to my heart and I’m really proud of it,” Olivia said.

“People with Down Syndrome competing in the Paralympics and

being represented is one of my dreams. I really want to be part of it and hope to compete one day.”

Olivia said delivering her speech at the UN was a highlight of her journey so far. “I had a total blast, it was so much fun,” she said.

Olivia also spoke at the World Congress of Down Syndrome 2018 in Glasgow, where researchers into the new fourth box category came to hear her.

Fourth box trialled at INAS Olivia’s campaign has gained traction, with the Down Syndrome fourth box category being trialled at the 2019 INAS Global Games — a world class sporting competition held every four years.

At these games, athletes with intellectual impairment can compete at a high level in a safe, secure, inclusive environment.

In addition to providing athletes with intellectual impairment the opportunity to get involved in elite levels of sport, the INAS Global Games aims to challenge perceptions of disability, change attitudes and build communities locally and globally.

At the 2019 INAS competition in Brisbane, more than 1000 athletes from all over the world gathered to compete.

Officials introduced events for athletes

with Down Syndrome and researchers gathered data.

As a result of that trial, there is now a separate category for school sports in Queensland so children with both physical and intellectual disabilities can compete on a more level playing field during interschool sports.

Olivia is pleased with this outcome and hopes that by the time the Olympics come to Brisbane in 2032, the Down Syndrome category will be in place for the Paralympics.

“I would love to see it, things change slowly but they are going in the right direction,” she said.

Outstanding young Australian In 2017, Olivia was nominated for the Queensland Young Australian of the Year Award in recognition of her activism and service to the community.

“Being nominated was pretty exciting and has led to other opportunities and I’ve met other friends through the program,” she said.

Now an Ambassador for Queensland Day and Australia Day, Olivia represents the Queensland Government on Australia Day every year by travelling to attend celebrations and advocate for disability awareness.

Sport is a huge part of Olivia’s life. It led her to volunteer in the athlete’s village on the entertainment independent education | issue 1 | Vol 52 | 2022 | 7

team during the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

“I got to meet and greet the athletes, it was exciting and I got to see plenty of athletes including Usain Bolt,” she said.

“I’m definitely signing up to volunteer for the Brisbane Olympics.”

Teachers who made an impact Olivia said she had a great high school experience, thanks to the wonderful staff at Southern Cross Catholic College in Redcliffe.

“I loved going to Southern Cross, because it was like being part of one big family; it’s always been like a home to me,” she said.

Olivia’s mother, Kerry, said the creative and engaging methods of Olivia’s teachers were instrumental in helping Olivia to learn effectively and enjoy classes.

“Olivia is passionate about inclusive education and has addressed cohorts of teachers during conferences about how to make learning work better for students with Down Syndrome,” Kerry said.

Olivia said rule number one is to make it fun.

“Sometimes we would have multiplication, subtractions, additions and division – and learn that through cakes and chocolates,” Olivia said. “I had the best teachers ever.”

In science, her teacher taught the class about the structure of a cell using cake that was decorated to represent the cell membrane, nucleus and mitochondria, an approach Olivia said helped her to enjoy learning and remember content.

During school, Olivia said teachers allowed her regular breaks, helping her to maintain concentration and combat fatigue.

“I used to get really tired and wasn’t learning as much, so what they would do for me was to let me get up and do a bit of exercise, run around to get my energy levels back up again.

“Once I was energised, I’d sit back down, keep going with learning and blitz it!”

Kerry said one of the best aspects of Olivia attending a mainstream school was the exposure she had to extracurricular activities and socialising.

“Olivia put her hand up for anything, whenever there was anything happening,” Kerry said. “She got to help with events, play netball, tennis, drama, fundraising and theatre sports, which is great because it really gets her brain working and requires quick thinking.”

Flexibility crucial for inclusion Although her dream job is in entertainment, Olivia has completed work experience in hospitality and 8 | independent education | issue 1 | Vol 52 | 2022

Photo: Julie Collins retail, which has taught her lots of valuable skills.

Olivia’s work experience at a supermarket eventually led to ongoing employment and a part-time job. She now works three days a week.

At both school and work, Kerry said Olivia thrives when people find her strengths and offer her the flexibility to make either study or work fit those strengths.

“One of Olivia’s most successful teachers at school was her business teacher,” Kerry said.

“Business was really good because he would take the curriculum and turn it into something that not only you could do, but something you could really succeed at.”

A bright future Beyond sport and advocacy, Olivia has immersed herself in the world of arts and entertainment. She thrives on stage, taking after her older sister Lucy, an actor and comedian.

Olivia started dancing at age four and currently averages 20 hours per week.

“I loved dancing so much that when I started, I told my mum I wanted to become a professional dancer and make a career out of it,” she said. “I’m working really hard to reach that goal.”

A graduate of NIDA’s Young Actor’s Studio, Olivia has been involved in several on-screen and live theatre productions, recently starring in a short film, Sunshine.

Kerry said Sunshine — which premiered at the 2021 Brisbane International Film Festival before moving on to the film festival circuit — is an important movie.

“It’s a beautiful story with a powerful message, but it’s told so sensitively,” Kerry said.

“So many modern films are dark and macabre with their shock factor, but I thought Sunshine was clever because you still got a surprise, but it was so gentle and sensitively done,” she said.

Olivia helped develop the movie through a program run by Bus Stop Films, an inclusive screen company that aims to raise the profile of people with disabilities and other marginalised groups who have an interest in film or aspirations to work in the industry.

“We helped write the script and I even got the chance to audition for the main part, which I got,” Olivia said.

Dream, believe, achieve With new auditions coming up, Olivia is busy rehearsing her parts and learning scripts.

Kerry is proud of her daughter – doctors once believed she would never talk or be able to learn.

“That’s another thing school really prepared Olivia for,” Kerry said.

“Her literacy levels are really high, so being able to read is such a great advantage, and to assume someone with Down Syndrome might not be the best reader, it really does them a disservice.

“Do you think doctors and people in general tend to underestimate what people with Down Syndrome can do?”

Kerry asked Olivia.

“I think they do,” Olivia said. “Some people do, some people don’t.

“If you have Down Syndrome or a disability, just know that even if some people see you as just your disability, don’t take that personally.

“The secret to success is to dream, believe, achieve and then work hard.

“If you put in the hard work, you can achieve your dreams and live an incredible life,” she said.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow In March the IEU marked International Women’s Day with this year’s theme of Changing climates: Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow, writes Jessica Willis.

Explaining the theme, UN Women Australia said it celebrates and recognises the contribution of women and girls around the world who are leading the charge on climate change adaptation, mitigation and response to build a more sustainable future for all.

“Harnessing the skills and knowledge of women to conserve our natural resources and create a healthier, more sustainable planet is central to achieving the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals,” the organisation says.

“Women and girls face greater vulnerability and exposure to disasters and conflicts, and yet they remain largely ignored in developing solutions and their capabilities are often underutilised.

“As the most impacted, women are also a critical part of the solution.”

Gender and climate change Advancing gender equality within the context of the climate crisis and disaster risk reduction is one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century, according to the United Nations’ entity, UN Women. They argue that climate change will have significant impacts on the environment, as well as women’s economic and social development.

“Those who are amongst the most vulnerable and marginalised experience the deepest impacts.

“Women are increasingly being recognised as more vulnerable to climate change impacts than men, as they constitute the majority of the world’s poor and are more dependent on the natural resources which climate change threatens most.”

However, at the same time, women and girls are leading the way as effective change-makers for climate adaptation and mitigation. “[Women and girls] are involved in sustainability initiatives around the world, and their participation and leadership results in more effective climate action.”

What is imperative now, is that we keep removing barriers for women and girls to be included in decision-making, policy creation and leadership positions when it comes to climate change, sustainability and disaster and risk management.

Slice of history In 1910, Clara Zetkin, leader of the Women’s Office for the Social Democratic Party in Germany, tabled the idea for IWD at the second International Conference of Working Women held in Copenhagen.

On 19 March 1911, the first IWD was celebrated with meetings and protests across Europe. The largest street demonstration was estimated to have 30,000 women.

Two years later, the date changed to the one we currently mark, 8 March, and each year the day grows in reach and prominence around the world, celebrating the achievements of women, recognising work that needs to be done and actions that need to be taken.

IWD came to Australia in 1928 when it was organised in Sydney by the Militant Women’s Movement, calling for a foundation of equal working rights: equal pay for equal work; an eight-hour working day for ‘shop girls’ (as shop assistants were then known); and paid leave.

It quickly spread after that to Brisbane and Melbourne, then across the country.

Union action IEU-QNT Organiser and Equity Committee member Caryl Rosser said our union marks IWD as a day to promote equality for women’s social, political, economic and working rights.

“It’s a day that provides a central point of action and connection for people often divided by national boundaries and cultural, economic and political difference, to discuss issues and celebrate achievements,” she said.

“It is also a day that challenges all Australians to decide the quality of the legacy to be passed onto future generations of working women.

“We encourage IEU members to unite, network and mobilise for meaningful change on IWD as there is still much to achieve, particularly for women’s working rights,” Rosser said.

Here are some actions IEU members can take to support change throughout the year: • Join the campaign for 10 days paid family and domestic violence leave for all.

• Familiarise yourself with the Respect@Work Report and tell your MPs it should be fully implemented.

• Join the campaign to include Paid Reproductive Leave in your collective agreements.

• Join the Building our Leadership Development (BOLD) Women’s Network organised by our union for member-only professional development and events.

More information • UN Women: unwomen.org/en • UN Women Australia: unwomen.org.au.

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Celebrating diversity by normalising disfluency IEU member Vikesh Anand is committed to making a difference by raising awareness and advocating for those who speak with a stutter, writes Emily Campbell.

In addition to using his voice as a tool for change, Vikesh is the head IT technician at St Dympna’s Primary School in Aspley, north of Brisbane.

He is also a dedicated unionist.

Having been in the role for six years, Vikesh says he enjoys his job because it combines his love of technology and desire to help others.

“Before starting in education, I worked in technology and sales for over 20 years,” he said.

“Every day is different, and this role is the best of both worlds: I get to do what I love, which is relate to technology as well as being involved with the educational side of things, supporting teachers, students and admin,” he said.

This being his first job in the education sector, Vikesh was enthusiastic about joining the IEU so he could be part of a supportive organisation which looks out for members’ best interests.

“When I started six years ago, it was an unknown field, so I thought it was important to join for protection,” he said.

Persistence pays Vikesh said he is appreciative of the union’s assistance throughout the process of having his role reclassified after his initial application was knocked back.

“Part of the reason for the initial rejection, from my understanding, was that at the time there was no other employee in my role at the level/step in a Brisbane Catholic primary school,” he said.

“I thought the employer’s justification was invalid, and the union and my principal agreed.

“Why should this step not apply to staff in a primary school, despite its

existence for staff employed in some high schools?

“It was a joint and collaborative effort by our union and my principal, who were both working towards a common goal of having my role reclassified.

“The process took about a year, so having the support of the union, which was keeping the employer on the ball, following up and making sure the next steps were occurring to progress my application, was a relief,” he said.

Vikesh said although receiving an increase in salary was great, his motivation for seeking reclassification was fundamentally about professional recognition.

“It was about respect for the role because I do a lot at the school and there should be a higher level of recognition and respect, because technology at our school has come a long way,” he said.

‘Speak Easy’, speak freely Vikesh’s determination to fight for positive change is also evident through his work at the Australian Speak Easy Association (ASEA), where he has been National President for three years.

“ASEA is a volunteer-run advocacy and support organisation for people who stutter, which has been around since 1980,” Vikesh said.

“It started off as a support and maintenance group for Australian adults who had completed the fluid speech therapy program, but now it’s expanded so we are inclusive of all people who stutter, irrespective of whether they choose to undergo therapy or not,” he said.

Vikesh is one of the few ASEA national presidents who has chosen not to undergo speech therapy. He maintains a philosophy of speaking freely.

“During the pandemic we have continued to hold support groups in person and also introduced online sessions,” he said.

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Photo supplied by Vikesh Anand “The online component has actually expanded our reach and allowed us to reconnect with Speak Easy members who have moved interstate,” Vikesh said.

ASEA hosts Smooth Speech maintenance groups in many parts of the country as well as new Speak Freely meet-up groups in some cities. Online groups meet nationally – providing a casual way for people with an interest in stuttering to meet.

“Speak with therapy, speak without therapy, stutter or don’t stutter, it doesn’t matter,” Vikesh said.

“As the name implies, come as you are and speak freely, without judgement.

“It’s just about being part of the stuttering community and understanding that you’re not alone,” he said.

Debunking myths In addition to supporting people who stutter, key goals of ASEA include raising awareness and educating the public about speech disfluency and dispelling harmful myths.

“One of the myths out there is that people who stutter are less intelligent, although there is absolutely no evidence

“High-profile and successful individuals such as US President Joe Biden and Australian businessman Andrew Forrest both have stutters.”

of stuttering being linked to someone’s level of intelligence,” Vikesh said.

“Another is that people who stutter are nervous and while nervousness can certainly increase the level of disfluency, it’s not the primary cause of stuttering, which is still unknown.

“There is a perception that people who stutter are less capable than those who speak fluently, but this is not the case, with many high-profile and successful individuals including US President Joe Biden and Australian businessman billionaire Andrew Forrest both having stutters,” he said.

Advocating for understanding Vikesh said a highlight of his involvement in ASEA was a recent successful appeal of a decision by the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) to refuse a member funding for speech therapy.

“The individual was denied funding because the NDIS representative did not believe stuttering was a lifelong disability, so the ASEA member approached us for help,” he said.

“Along with our advisory board, which is made up of four speech pathologists and a psychologist, we collectively got the support of the

Australian Stuttering Research Centre to provide us with some facts and evidence about stuttering, which we supplied to the NDIS along with a letter appealing the decision.

“The NDIS assessor acknowledged their error and claimed they had never encountered stuttering so didn’t understand.

“We need to educate the assessors on stuttering, so the people making these decisions have a thorough understanding, which is something we are advocating for along with Speech Pathology Australia,” he said.

“In our limited volunteer capacity, we do try to assist and advocate for additional funding for speech therapy treatment, and they’ve been doing trials in NSW along those lines.

“For people who do want treatment, we don’t want the cost to be a barrier.”

Representation matters Vikesh has built relationships with several media outlets in his bid to raise awareness of stuttering and appears regularly as a guest on ABC Radio program Lunch Club with Kat Feeney.

“They call me about once per month and we speak about a particular topic and it’s great, because we need to

make disfluency part of the narrative, so people hear someone with a stutter on the radio and focus on the content, rather than how the words come out,” Vikesh said.

“The challenge with stuttering is that it’s an invisible disability. So if I walk up to somebody, there isn’t anything that indicates that my words won’t sound fluent, which can take the listener by surprise.

“Less than 5 percent of adults have a stutter so it’s likely the person you’re speaking to has never met anyone who stutters, so it’s an opportunity to educate the listener,” he said.

Vikesh said he explained his stutter to his children when they were young as being just part of his accent.

“I told them sometimes the words bounce, sometimes they’ll slide but that’s just the way the words come out and that’s what people need to understand,” he said.

“It’s just the way we talk, it doesn’t mean anything more or determine your capability in life,” Vikesh said.

More information Speak Easy Association: speakeasy.org.au

independent education | issue 1 | Vol 52 | 2022 | 11

The great digital divide Inequities in internet access existed before the COVID-19 pandemic, but its onslaught has only exacerbated the gap.

Monica Crouch talks to the people trying to close it.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed fault lines. More people from lower-income brackets contracted the virus as they couldn’t work from home; and more women lost their jobs than men. Around the world, school closures and the shift to online learning lifted the curtain on the haves and have-nots of digital access.

In February 2021, the Sydney Morning Herald reported that more than 33,000 students in NSW did not have home internet access, with western and south-western Sydney home to the most students without internet access.

The Dropping off the Edge Report, produced by Jesuit Social Services, the Centre for Just Places and the University of Canberra, pinpoints the suburbs and towns in each state where disadvantage is most concentrated. In NSW, 5 percent of the total areas surveyed accounted for 29 percent of the disadvantage.

Digital exclusion has huge implications for education.

The Wester’ly Coalition was formed to advocate for digital inclusion in western and south-western Sydney. The group campaigns for long-term digital inclusion solutions for families experiencing hardship. It has five clear asks: access, affordability, capacity building, collaboration, representation.

Defining the problem Wester’ly member Jane Stratton is also the CEO and founder of the Think+DO Tank Foundation, which facilitates community self-direction over everyday circumstances in low-income parts of south-western and western Sydney.

Stratton says getting data around digital exclusion is tricky.

“The Census used to ask, ‘Do you have internet access at home?’ but this question has been dropped, reflecting falling government interest in the issue,” Stratton says.

“In Fairfield, for example, there’s a high proportion of school-aged children and a low rate of digital connectivity.

Between 13 percent and 26 percent of households don’t have reliable access to the internet, or they’re mobile dependent.” Western Sydney is also home to several notorious ‘wi-fi blackspots’.

12 | independent education | issue 1 | Vol 52 | 2022

“There might be one device in a household, but three learners and two adults,” Stratton says. “So that creates tensions in terms of priority of use.”

During lockdowns in 2021, one school reported that only six out of 110 families had the necessary hardware to set their children up for online learning.

“About 3.5 percent of the income of an average household is spent on telecommunications and internet needs; but in lowincome households, it’s 10 percent of their income,” Stratton said.

“That’s just another way of saying it’s unaffordable.”

Affordability issues tend to outweigh internet availability.

“Most students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds will find ways to access some form of technology and bandwidth,” a recently retired school principal from western Sydney said (we have withheld his name to protect his students’ privacy). “And schools in western Sydney have done a great job trying to accommodate students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

“But families in the west struggle to provide multiple family members with even basic devices. More often they share a single home device or phone with equally limited access to networks. This is not effective when you have multiple students trying to do their work online.”

Many senior students also work long hours in tiring hospitality and service jobs to pay for their own devices and internet plans, but many of these jobs disappeared during lockdowns. “It led to frustration and worry for senior students, disengagement for others,” the principal said.

In almost 75 percent of households in western and southwestern Sydney, a language other than English is spoken.

These language barriers in turn lead to gender implications, as women tend to be responsible for children’s needs. “Some mothers said if they’d had technical instructions in their own language, they could get their children connected for home learning,” Stratton says. “But many began to despair of their capacity to motivate their children and help them learn.”

The former principal understands this concern. “Compare the above to the experience of affluent households, who live above the ‘latte line’, often with multiple devices, unlimited bandwidth and astute, fluent parents,” he said. “It’s easy to see how the gap widens.”

“There might be one device in a household, but three learners and two adults, so that creates tensions in terms of priority of use.”

Making progress Claire Thomas is the Manager of School and Community Engagement for Jesuit Social Services in NSW. She has taught Human Society and its Environment (HSIE) in Catholic and independent schools, and works with teachers, leaders and students to raise awareness on issues of social justice.

Also a member of Wester’ly, Thomas says the group is “seeking to work with public, independent and Catholic schools to communicate and transform the root drivers of digital exclusion”.

Wester’ly has also been working with decision makers in the political and corporate sectors to devise equity strategies.

“We’re looking for a cross-portfolio, bipartisan response to ensure that all children and young people are able to engage, learn, connect and thrive,” she says.

Thomas says meetings with politicians and telecommunications companies have been positive so far, but there are no quick fixes.

Wester’ly is currently collaborating with Western Sydney University to explore the impact of digital exclusion on education in western Sydney during the pandemic. The first step is a questionnaire for school principals, followed by a ‘deep dive’ into six schools in western Sydney, both primary and secondary.

Former Wester’ly member Maia Giordano is the Child Friendly Community Facilitator at Blacktown City Council.

She specialises in child rights and youth engagement. Her work focuses on ensuring children and young people get to enjoy the benefits of the digital age.

Digital literacy is central to so many daily functions, Giordano says. “We require digital access for education, for government services, for libraries, health services, even just social connection and downtime,” she says. “And without that, kids are really missing out.”

Seeking solutions “Being an educator is an act of equity – it’s at the heart of being a teacher,” Stratton says. “If you accept that it’s partly the education system’s responsibility to close the equity gap, then what’s the mechanism?” Here are some suggestions:

• Survey parents to find out the school community’s needs.

• Form a ‘network’ of local schools that can share and connect wi-fi signals. With unlimited data plans, there is no extra cost. Telecommunications providers can help facilitate this.

• Harness the skills of non-English speaking communities so no one is left behind.

• Donate: Optus offers a ‘donate data’ program so its customers can share resources with those who lack them.

• Encourage libraries to leave their wi-fi signal on after closing hours. (Numerous stories emerged during lockdown of school students gathering in library carparks to access wi-fi so they could do their homework.)

• Trial ‘internet buses’. In developing countries, some students rely on regular visits of vans filled with computers connected to the internet.

• Manage waste. Could schools share or donate old equipment when they’re upgrading?

• Lobby telecommunications providers for long-range wi-fi, so schools can throw their wi-fi signal as far as possible.

Despite all the difficulties, the former principal was all praise for students. “The classes of 2020 and 2021 in western Sydney showed remarkable resilience despite the social, economic and educational challenges thrown at them,” he said.

More information • Wester’ly: Digital inclusion for Western Sydney: westerly.org.au • Dropping off the Edge Report: dote.org.au • “Remote learning exposed Sydney’s digital divide – but not much has changed”, Sydney Morning Herald, 7 Feb 2021 • “Hotspot in a cold climate: The Melbourne library that transformed lockdown for struggling families”, The Guardian, 31 October 2021.

independent education | issue 1 | Vol 52 | 2022 | 13

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES: A An IEU member took part in a fouryear program to familiarise teachers with Digital Technologies. Sue Osborne finds out what she learnt.

A Digital Technologies in Focus project run by the Australain Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) involved more than 2000 teachers in 160 schools with a low ranking on the index of community socio-educational advantage. They received support from curriculum support officers, had access to teachers from other sectors and school levels, and input from industry experts.

There was a particular emphasis on regional and remote schools across Australia.

The project was recognised by Deakin University as having improved student engagement and achievement in some of the country’s most disadvantaged schools. It has also provided timely tech skills to teachers.

IEU member Beck Keough, from St Bernard’s Primary School, Batemans Bay, on the NSW south coast, was one of the teachers who took part. (She taught at nearby St Mary’s Primary School, Moruya, during the project) Keough said she had always been interested in information technology and STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), but she became “fired up” about Digital Technologies when she understood the subject was all about sequential or computational thinking, not just “robots and programming”.

“It made sense to me,” Keough said. “I saw that the type of analytical, procedural and computational thinking required for Digital Technologies could be incredibly useful to the students across all teaching and learning areas,” Keough said.

She said some schools teach Digital Technologies as a stand-alone topic, while others embed it across many subjects, which is how ACARA intends it to be taught.

Initial reluctance Keough said some staff were initially reluctant to engage with Digital Technologies.

“Teachers immediately feel challenged by it if they feel they require advanced skills in using hardware, but

technology can just mean a pen after all,” she said.

“They also worry it is another new thing to implement on top of their busy schedule.

“However, once we were able to demonstrate that it’s just a way of thinking, such as being about doing things step-by-step, without even a computer involved, teachers started to relax and warm to it.”

Keough likened the computational thinking in Digital Technologies to a recipe. “We demonstrated this by having students ‘program’ a teacher,” she said. “The students gave input and the teacher produced the output.”

Keough shared what she learned from the program with her colleagues. She introduced the topic to teachers in a practical way so they could incorporate it into what they taught on a day-to-day basis, as opposed to having to rewrite lessons. For example, in teaching about living things, a kindergarten teacher found a way to introduce Digital Technologies into her class. They brought fish in a tank into the classroom, and the children had to come up with a step-by step procedure for cleaning the tank.

“In Year 4 we used a micro:bit and programmed it to create a dice game, which teachers could easily use as a warm-up for their maths lessons,” Keough said.

In another example, a kindergarten class used data based on students’ favourite ice cream flavours as part of a maths lesson that incorporated the data component of the Digital Curriculum.

A Year 6 teacher integrated algorithms by looking at how the school was sorting rubbish.

“Teachers doing beading or threading in kindergarten are engaging in exploring patterns, which is part of the Digital Technologies curriculum, and they do this without even knowing it.

“That is when the kids are most engaged – not when you have all the bells and whistles, but when they’re making connections and they are engaging in authentic experiences.

That’s when they can see a purpose in what they are learning.

“At the start of the lesson, if you can explain how the skill relates to digital thinking it changes things. I believe that if students understand why they’re learning a concept, and why it’s

14 | independent education | issue 1 | Vol 52 | 2022

important to them in their world, there’s a big shift in the way they engage.

“The most exciting part for me as a classroom teacher is finding the way to include digital tech in an authentic way that’s not an add on, when I can connect it to other curriculum areas,” she said.

Sharing the workload Working collaboratively — sharing their successful experiments, and even allowing students with programming or 3D printing and computer assisted design (CAD) experience to share their knowledge with teachers and other students — eased some of the anxieties around technology.

“By the end of the Digital Technologies in Focus project, teachers realise there are so many ways that you can engage with the Digital Technologies curriculum,” Keough said.

“Now teachers are asking questions and taking on challenges to improve their own practice. We’ve grown a lot in that respect.”

Although St Mary’s does not rate highly on the index of community socio-educational advantage (it is in a region hard hit by bushfires during the 2019 Black Summer and COVID), a lack of access to devices at homes was not a problem.

The school already had a 1:2 device ratio, which made the project achievable when the teachers engaged in programming or other digital learning activities.

However, much of Digital Technologies involves learning how to think like a programmer and write in a sequential way, not necessarily in front of a screen.

“We’ve needed to amp up our ICT capabilities due to COVID, and staff who had participated in the Digital Technology in Focus program were really empowered,” Keough said.

ACARA Senior Curriculum Manager Julie King said, “The need for professional learning nationally was high and particularly so in disadvantaged schools where students often have limited access to digital devices at home, and so the school’s role is critical.

“Spending such a long time with the schools meant the mentors were able to build an ecosystem of support

A STEP-BY-STEP APPROACH

Teacher Beck Keough (above) and activities she uses to bring Digital Technologies to life. Banana bongos (left), is an integrated music activity where students code to investigate circuits and create patterns in music. Below: a microbit used to create dice for mathematics activities.

“That is when the kids are most engaged – not when you have all the bells and whistles, but when they’re making connections and engaging in authentic experiences.” and that contributed significantly to the success of the program and to sustaining important long-term change.

“Students showed increased engagement in learning computational thinking, design thinking and problem solving. A lot of teachers told us they saw many students, who might normally lack confidence in the classroom, really shine, and every school involved reported positive outcomes for student inclusion and achievement.

“Many First Nations students also benefited from learning Digital Technologies through a focus on story, exploring their local language, learning on Country/Place and programming

robotic devices,” King said.

As a result of the program, Keough has become a champion of the Digital Technologies subject, sharing information through social media. She has recently taken part in a podcast on the topic, in collaboration with other teachers from around Australia.

More information • Edulatte: A podcast for educators by educators: edulatte1.podbean.com/ • Deakin University School of Education undertook a three-year close-up study of six schools that participated in the Digital Technologies in Focus program.

Read the reports: australiancurriculum.edu.au/ resources/digital-technologies-infocus/about/ • Teachers can access ACARA resources, including illustrations of practice, video content, tutorials, classroom ideas, lesson plans and assessment tasks:australiancurriculum.edu.au/f10-curriculum/technologies/digitaltechnologies/ • Australian Computing Academy: aca.edu.au/ • Follow Beck Keough on Twitter: @beckkeough1

independent education | issue 1 | Vol 52 | 2022 | 15

SECURE JOBS.

Worth fighting for

Australia used to have among the most stable, reliable jobs in the world. Jobs you could plan a life around.

Now more than one in four Australian workers are in insecure work, writes Jessica Willis.

IEU members will understand first-hand the intrusion of insecure work throughout our sector, with increased casualisation rates, rampant misuse of fixed-term contracts, fluctuating part-time hours and limited term-time incomes.

We have even seen the introduction of the ‘gig economy’ due to some employers hiring specialist teachers, for example specialist sports coaches and instrumental teachers, as independent contractors – effectively denying them employee status.

Insecure employment leaves workers with fewer working rights, lower pay and, more often than not, simply not enough working hours to make ends meet.

It leaves workers with limited or no access to sick leave, annual leave and parental leave, which has only been more keenly felt during the last two years of pandemic.

It means many must take more than one job just to survive.

The proportion of Australian workers holding multiple jobs is at its highest level in the 27 years since the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) began reporting on the issue, with 828,200 Australians working more than one job during the March quarter in 2021.

It is a policy disgrace that the current Federal Government seem to have zero appetite to change, and it’s everyday Australians who are suffering.

The impact of insecure work The impacts of insecure work are well known: employment uncertainty, financial insecurity, halted career progression and a general inability to plan for the future.

Originally, casual work was limited to those rare cases where an employer could not cover the workload with permanent, on-going workers because of unforeseen workload peaks or temporary short-term staff shortages.

It was closely regulated in awards and collective agreements.

Today, insecure work is a business model used to cover entire work functions, and successive work laws have made it more difficult to protect secure work.

This has resulted in a significant class of workers without jobs they can count on, little bargaining power and reduced capacity for home loans while the cost of living continues to increase.

Insecure jobs have led to Australia having more inequality now than at any time on record and contributed to decades of near anaemic wage growth.

The pandemic has also revealed the risks of insecure work as COVID-19 continues to exploit fault lines in the labour market and disproportionately affect insecure workers. The ramifications of this make it a broader community health and economic issue.

Insecure work in non-government education IEU-QNT Branch Secretary Terry Burke said insecure work is a serious concern for Australian communities and families, especially those in the education sector.

“Having a secure job is connected to so many things like mental health, food and housing,” he said.

“When people don’t have secure jobs, they have very limited money to spend in local businesses and many barely have enough to pay essential bills.

“It’s simply not good enough that the Federal Government have, over successive years, kept attacking working rights and secure employment, dragging Australians down.

“In our sector, school officers in particular are likely to be in insecure jobs, with some who have been on rolling fixedterm contracts for years.

“While our union has been successful in helping members move into secure jobs by negotiating stronger protections for the use of fixed-term contracts, we need systemic change.

“We cannot win the fight on a case-by-case basis, and it is not fair workers are doing the heavy lifting,” he said.

Act today IEU members can help pressure the Federal Government to address the issue of insecure work through the ACTU’s Secure Jobs. Worth Fighting For campaign.

“Insecure work has been placed in the too hard basket for too long and workers are calling for legislative and cultural change to boost rates of secure employment,” Burke said.

“Workers deserve financial security and assurance after one of the most difficult and disruptive times in recent history.

“We encourage all IEU members to sign and share the ACTU petition calling on the Morrison Government to fix their industrial policies and laws so there is better access to secure and reliable jobs,” he said.

Sign today: bit.ly/3rIfL3l

16 | independent education | issue 1 | Vol 52 | 2022

BREAKTHROUGH

IEU Education Coordinator Veronica Yewdall explains a year-long process to reduce workloads – and the positive outcome.

In response to member concerns about the process of the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data (NCCD) on school students with disability, the IEU conducted a survey in late 2020 to establish the breadth and severity of workload and wellbeing concerns.

Our research in 334 schools showed there was widespread respect for the NCCD and its aims. However, it was equally clear that teachers were struggling with unsustainable evidence collection expectations at school and system level, as well as various complications arising from the postenumeration verification process.

The IEU reached out to the Federal Department of Education, Skills and Employment (DESE) in Canberra in

March 2021, with the aim of finding workable solutions.

In this special four-page liftout, you’ll find the result of six months of meetings between DESE and the IEU, culminating in a substantial reduction in workload, as explained in the Fact Sheet.

This Fact Sheet contains key clarifications of the NCCD guidelines, providing teachers with mandated information that challenges the current duplication and layering of evidence. You will also find: • a timeline of the IEU’s engagement on this issue • the joint Fact Sheet developed through collaboration between DESE and the IEU • IEU commentary that clarifies the practical application of the Fact Sheet in schools • a thank you to our NCCD Working Group • next steps for the IEU and next steps for members.

Timeline of the IEU’s engagement with the NCCD process Mid 2020 Members raise NCCD issues through Branch and Chapter Meetings.

334 schools participate in the survey, providing a wealth of quantitative data and over 830 comments.

IEU forms NCCD Working Group of members and engages external survey consultant.

Data analysed and recommendations formulated. IEU research report published.

Sep 2020 Non-government schools invited to nominate a representative to complete the survey.

Mar 2021 Recommendations endorsed by IEU Executive and Council.

Concurrently IEU initiates contact with DESE to collaborate on clarified guidelines.

Final version of Fact Sheet posted on NCCD portal. DESE authorises the IEU to distribute the Fact Sheet nationally, directly to teachers.

Meetings held with all Catholic dioceses and the AIS to discuss recommendations.

Dec 2021 DESE provides Fact Sheet and authorisation letter to employer peak bodies. IEU seeks meetings with all employers.

DESE and IEU collaboration on guidelines results in multiple drafts and refinements.

Dec 2021 Meeting between IEU and DESE to discuss alignment between audit process and Fact Sheet.

independent education | issue 1 | Vol 52 | 2022 | 17

, THANK YOU RS IEU MEMBE

NCCD Evidence Fact Shee

Throughout 2021 the IEU has been engaged with the Department evidence requirements for the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on Scho

The NCCD Evidence Fact Sheet provides guidance on what is and what is not required. You can download the Fact Sheet here: bit.ly/nccd2021

Collating ev a single do unnece

Evidence Requirements for the Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability (NCCD) The administration of the NCCD is a shared responsibility across each school, not the sole responsibility of any one teacher.

Funding fluctuations are to be expected.

Any suggestion that these fluctuations will adversely impact the employment of colleagues or principals is a damaging misrepresentation.

Teacher judgement on the applicable level of the adjustment is to be respected.

Australian Government guidance for schools in the non-government sector This Fact Sheet seeks to provide guidance to schools and school systems to make the school-wide NCCD administration as streamlined as possible, while ensuring that essential evidence is made available.

Student with Disability loading This loading provides extra funding on top of the base funding amount for primary and secondary schools for each student with disability that is counted in the top 3 levels of the NCCD (extensive, substantial, and supplementary).

The loading is based on the NCCD, which collects information on students with disability by the level of additional support they are provided to access and participate in learning with higher funding for those who need higher levels of support. This level of support will vary from year to year depending on individual student needs. Under the NCCD, the school team uses their professional, evidence-based judgement to capture information on the level of additional support a student is provided in the classroom.

The NCCD captures a fourth level of support defined as 'support provided within quality differentiated teaching practice’ (QDTP).

This comprises support provided within the classroom as part of standard teaching practice which is responsive to the needs of all students and delivered without the need for additional funding.

The NCCD Model The collection of nationally consistent data is intended to: •

inform educational planning and policy development at national and jurisdictional levels

•

assist education authorities and schools to make more effective provision for students with disability and improve their educational outcomes

18 | independent education | issue 1 | Vol 52 | 2022

•

capture all students receiving adjustments to support their access and participation in learning due to a disability – not just those with a medical diagnosis.

The annual collection is more than a count of the number of students with disability; it aims to ensure better support for these students becomes routine in the day-to-day practice of schools.

Continuous improvement in the collection, with a particular focus on achieving data that are robust, valid, and reliable, is supported through regular and formal review of the data collection process.

Evidence to Support the NCCD Evidence to support the NCCD should be drawn from classroom practice already in place to meet the existing obligations set out in the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 and Disability Standards for Education 2005.

Schools are encouraged to build the gathering of evidence to support decisions made on levels of adjustment for students with disability into their ongoing processes and structures throughout the year.

Teachers and school staff can achieve this by drawing on their existing records of assessments, teaching/learning outcomes, consultations with parents, carers or students and records of adjustments.

Schools are not required to create new or additional evidence for the purposes of the NCCD. NCCD evidence must cover four areas of identified need, adjustments, consultation/ collaboration, and monitoring/review.

Templates o portal may b are not man duplication collating ev a docume avoi

Documents s are not ma every state. decides to u should be c only record the four

Evidence do to be uploade Assistance can remotely or working with onsite or

Paper docum need to be c electronic file files do no be pri

Ordinary p documen required. A verifica existing e not req

et with IEU commentary

t of Education, Skills and Employment (Canberra) to develop the ool Students with Disability (NCCD) Evidence Fact Sheet, which appears below.

DESE requires evidentiary materials that cover four areas of identified need, adjustments, consultation/collaboration, and monitoring/review to be sighted.

vidence into ocument is essary.

It is possible that evidence for all four areas can be recorded in one concise document, such as an Individual Learning Plan or similar.

on the NCCD be used but ndatory. Any n caused by vidence into ent is to be ided.

Guides and Templates

such as ILPs andatory in . If a school use ILPs they concise and evidence in r areas.

oes not need ed anywhere. n be provided r in person, the evidence r online.

ments do not converted to es. Electronic ot need to inted.

professional ntation is Additional ation of evidence is quired.

Schools are not required to collate the evidence into one document. If a school chooses to develop such a document for the purposes of overview or planning, it should be concise and usable.

The NCCD Portal has guides and templates which can be used as suggestions for appropriate evidence at •

nccd.edu.au/tools/nccd-evidencetemplates

•

nccd.edu.au/tools/examples -evidence-support-students-inclusion-nccd

•

Recording adjustments in the program or elsewhere is sufficient. Teacher notes or annotations at the end of lessons to describe the adjustments made or recording student goals as evidence are in excess of what is required.

•

Recording the adjustments to be provided to a student is sufficient. Narrative or supplementary texts explaining school decisions with respect to a student’s adjustments, are in excess of what is required.

•

A timetable that specifies what activity is to occur in a particular session is sufficient.

Annotations by learning support officers/ teacher aides to the timetable post-lesson are in excess of what is required.

•

Class timetables, programs or student assessments that indicate the support that is to take place are sufficient. Photographs (with the appropriate approvals in place) of teachers or aides supporting students are in excess of what is required. There are also cultural sensitivities to consider if photographs are of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples.

The templates are optional and can be used as a guide to ensure that there is evidence available in each of the four general areas, as required. They are not to be used as exhaustive checklists, nor are all the example documents required. Sufficient evidence may exist within one document (such as a concise and usable Individual Learning Plan or similar) or be held separately.

•

A statement on seating in the list of adjustments recorded is sufficient.

Photographs or maps of the location of a student’s seat in the classroom are in excess of what is required.

Verifying NCCD Evidence

•

Notes from meetings with parents/carers are sufficient. Voice recordings (with the appropriate approvals in place) of meetings are in excess of what is required, if written notes are already available.

NCCD evidence is verified through the Australian Government Census postenumeration exercise.

For the purpose of the non-government school Census post-enumeration exercise, the evidence will be reviewed in whatever existing form(s) is held by the school.

Duplication of evidence into other forms (for example, from paper to electronic), different formats (for example, an alternative template) or to other locations (such as a school portal or similar), is not required by DESE at class, school or system level.

Gathering NCCD Evidence DESE strongly encourages school staff responsible for gathering evidence not to create unnecessary documentation.

Personnel engaged by DESE undertaking the Census post-enumeration verification will operate within this guidance when engaging with schools.

The Department of Education, Skills and Employment (DESE) has reviewed the IEU’s commentary on these pages and agreed it is consistent with the NCCD Evidence Fact Sheet.

Line of sight between needs, adjustment, consultation/ collaboration and monitoring/ review is required.

Explanation of the line of sight is not required.

Nor is narrative text detailing the plans made for the student.

Recording and enacting the adjustment is sufficient. Additional proof, such as photos or annotations, is not required.

Excessive documentation is not required for the post-enumeration verification. This updated Fact Sheet will be provided by post-enumeration contractors (auditors) to schools that are selected for audit.

Additional documentation to verify existing evidence is contrary to the expressed aims of the NCCD assurance process. Example comparisons of sufficient vs excessive evidence for the purposes of the NCCD may include, but are not limited to: independent education | issue 1 | Vol 52 | 2022 | 19

Next steps For the union 1. Seeking a second round of meetings with employers.

During the initial meetings with employers, the union flagged its intention to seek follow up discussions once the guidelines were finalised. Employers now have the Fact Sheet, and the IEU has sent invitations requesting further consultation on implementing the guidelines consistent with the advice and spirit of the Fact Sheet.

2. Many principals have already received the Fact Sheet through the IEU. We invite them to contact the union if they have any questions.

3. Monitoring post-enumeration verification in schools.

The NCCD Fact Sheet is an important and empowering tool for teachers, but the IEU is acutely aware that its success depends on the audit or post-enumeration verification process operating within the Fact Sheet guidance. The Department of Education, Skills and Employment (DESE) has agreed to provide the Fact Sheet to the post-enumeration contractors (auditors). In addition: • the IEU has sought separate meetings with DESE to raise particular issues members face during the audit process

• once the Fact Sheet has been disseminated, members in schools who are selected to participate in a post-enumeration verification will be asked to provide feedback to the IEU on various matters, including the contractors’ level of awareness of the Fact Sheet, and any issues of concern arising out of their understanding of the Fact Sheet guidance.

4. Following up with members. The IEU will conduct a follow-up survey — initially with the 334 schools that responded to our research survey — in September 2022, to establish the effect of the Fact Sheet and provide further feedback to DESE.

3. Contact your Organiser to arrange a Chapter meeting to discuss what the Fact Sheet means in practice at your school.

4. Use the Fact Sheet as a reference during discussions should employer representatives or consultants visit your school to assist with the NCCD process and check any proposed duplication against DESE’s guidance.

5. Contact the IEU to give some feedback if your school is involved in a post-enumeration verification or audit.

6. Look out for the IEU’s online NCCD briefing sessions to be held later in Term 1.

For members What should members do next?

Shout it from the rooftops!

You can also: 1. Display the Fact Sheet in your staff room or common area so other members are aware of it; tell other members about it.

2. Let non-members know about the success achieved through collective action on this issue and invite them to join the IEU.

The IEU is indebted to the eight members of the NCCD Working Group who gave up their time after school and during vacation periods to meet, in person and online, to review multiple drafts of the Fact Sheet.

The engagement of members in the work of achieving change is one of the great strengths of the union. The positive outcome we achieved would not have been possible without the experience, expertise and generosity of these members.

In their discussions, the members of the NCCD Working Group were mindful of the various contexts in which schools operate and were focused on achieving an outcome that would provide substantial improvement as widely as possible.

Thanks to their efforts, this Fact Sheet applies right across the nongovernment sector and will empower teachers as they fulfill the requirements of the NCCD in a far more balanced and sustainable way.

In the words of one member of the IEU’s NCCD Working Group: “This is an extraordinary outcome. It will be reassuring to know that the adjustments we put in place and the evidence we store, accessible to all student stakeholders, will be the same place that auditors will check. The time wasted in data duplication for the NCCD can now be spent improving the quality of adjustments and for more direct engagement with students.”

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NEXUS PROGRAM Connecting other professions to teaching The Nexus Program aims to attract professionals from other careers into teaching. But with staff shortages, heavy workloads and flagging salaries, will they stay?

Will Brodie investigates.

In 2019, the Grattan Institute’s Attracting High Achievers to Teaching report stated that $1.6 billion in spending was necessary to lure academic high-flyers.

The Nexus Program, run by Melbourne’s La Trobe University, reminds us that many professionals, including teachers and support staff, crave connection to community and a sense of higher purpose – as well as a decent salary.

Nexus is the result of a tender from the High Achieving Teachers Program, which targets economically and culturally diverse and hard-to-staff schools, especially in regional or rural areas.

Its first-year Master of Teaching students are paid for part-time work in schools and receive direct mentoring opportunities and professional development. In their second year, Nexus participants become full-time paraprofessionals in their schools, with a teaching load of 0.8, while they study.

Partnering process Nexus teachers are now in 30 schools where, Professor Lampert says, the schools welcome their “quality and commitment” .

“They trust us and our students,” she says. “We are low risk in that we deliver what we say, we don’t overpromise and we listen to the needs of teachers and school leaders. It’s largely about relationships.”

Professor Lampert believes Nexus is an “absolutely scaleable” model because of its emphasis on co-design and school/university partnerships.

“We really do design the program together, with recruitment, planning and mentoring a partnered process, she says. “I think it’s the co-design element that provides the strongest model for the future.” She says the biggest challenge such programs face is “maintaining fidelity to principles” when they grow.

“They call for a coordinated, longterm, politically bipartisan plan to strengthen teacher recruitment, placement and retention.”

Why it succeeds Nexus director Professor Jo Lampert said her program is succeeding because of its strong social justice focus and its unique community engagement.

She says the main point of Nexus is to prepare teachers who “really understand the communities they are teaching in and, wherever possible, come from those communities”.

Nexus identifies local participants and provides fortnightly ‘lived experience’ workshops where families from equity target groups inform teachers about their lives beyond the school gate.

Veterinarian-turned-teacher Hannah Lynch is a Nexus graduate.

“Hannah lives in Mildura so she’s from a regional area which historically finds it hard to staff schools,” Professor Lampert says.

“She’s a veterinarian, a professional, a young woman with a young family who wants to stay in her home town. So this was the perfect opportunity to make a career change because she still had a little bit of an income and knew she was going to get a job at the end of it.”

Professor Lampert says Lynch was a good candidate because she is “so hard working and committed to her students” and their shared community.

Shortages, salaries, workloads But more than a handful of high achievers is required to fix the looming teacher shortage crisis in Australia.

In October 2021, Unions NSW reported there were more than 1100 unfilled primary, secondary and special education positions in government schools in both metropolitan and regional areas.

The non-government sector is experiencing similar shortages.

Writing for The Conversation, academics Rachel Wilson and Giuseppe Carabetta reported expectations that NSW public schools will “run out of teachers

in the next five years”.

They say the pandemic will only add to excessive teacher workloads, and this will “ratchet up” short staffing in schools.

They call for a “coordinated, long-term, politically bipartisan plan to strengthen teacher recruitment, placement and retention”.

As Making time for great teaching, a recent report from the Grattan Institute, concluded: “Teachers don’t have time to do their job properly. Teachers should be able to get the core parts of their job done in a standard working week.” But IEU members know this hasn’t been possible for a long time.

More information • Public school teacher shortage raises fears they will run out of teachers, Sydney Morning Herald, 7 October 2021 • COVID and schools: Australia is about to feel the full brunt of its teacher shortage, The Conversation, 19 January 2022 independent education | issue 1 | Vol 52 | 2022 | 21

Forget the history wars

GO BIG History is important. How we see the past and what we teach our kids about it helps determine how we perceive ourselves and build the future, writes Will Brodie.

Historians must be meticulous, analysing specific dates, individuals, and documents.

But one Australian historian created an entirely new branch of the discipline by considering the biggest possible picture. Seeking a “unifying story that could bring everything together, that could give a sense of the whole of history”, Macquarie University’s David Christian created Big History, which encompasses the big bang, the present day and even the distant future.

Big History uses insights from cosmologists, palaeontologists, geologists and biologists. It integrates the work of the sciences, history, and economics to ask if our perception of the universe and ourselves is altered by considering the full span of time.

“When you string all those stories together, if you do it carefully, you get an amazing, cohesive story that’s fantastically interesting,” Christian told ABC News.

Wide angle The resulting “wide-angle look at the universe” so excited tech billionaire and philanthropist Bill Gates that the Big History Project (BHP) was born,

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with the goal to adapt the Big History university course for as many high school students as possible.

The BHP was launched at a TED conference in March 2011, when Christian presented a key lecture, History of the World in 18 Minutes, introducing Big History and the goal of reaching ninth grade students worldwide with an online course.

Christian and Gates had hit a nerve.

The TED Talk was viewed 18 million times and more than 1000 teachers around the world embraced Big History resources.

Teacher Sarah Trotter was one of the first Australian teachers to participate in the “pilot phase” of the “open, online,

and free” Big History Project.

It was the interdisciplinary nature of Big History that attracted Trotter, who was history co-ordinator at Redlands School in NSW at the time.

“The key problems we face, such as climate change, can’t be solved by concentrating on one discipline. We need to look more broadly than just science and integrate areas such as sociology and anthropology,” she said.

“This course, at its very core, is interdisciplinary – it involves both science and the arts.

“It was incredibly popular, the kids just flocked to it.”

Building critical skills Trotter describes teaching Big History as “absolutely one of the most rewarding” phases of her career.

She says the critical thinking skills students gained from Big History helped them to become “active and informed citizens”.

Year 10 Redlands student Jasmine Cavanough said: “You need to have an understanding of how everything is connected because if you just learn a bit of knowledge from every subject but can’t put it into a bigger framework, it’s not very fulfilling.”

Big History complemented the existing curriculum.

“It was more the idea that this was a valid way of thinking rather than replacing anything,” Trotter said.

Christian said it was a “dream come true” when he saw younger students excited by Big History.

The other side But there are critics. Clara Florensa, physicist, biologist, and science historian, told Spanish site cccb.org that Big History narratives don’t include “all manner of scientific controversies, debates and disagreements about what happened”.

She says such viewpoints are crucial to fostering critical capacity.

“The seductive aesthetic of Big History has an anesthetizing effect; it doesn’t prepare kids to develop a critical mindset with which to face the challenges of the future,” Florensa said.

“The revolution in education is not teaching Big History, it’s applying a view of history that introduces controversy and disagreement, and that breaks down the processes of consensus building – inseparable from the historical context in which they occur – because scientific practice is basically that.

“It is much more enriching to present kids with different viewpoints, what happens behind the scenes in the

production of scientific knowledge, and to foster in them a spirit of inquiry and criticism than to give them a version carved in stone that they don’t even have to think about. We have to show them that the process is also important, and this is, ultimately, what is lost with Big History”, she said.

Big History proponents argue that it provides a “big picture framework” for students and that this helps them organise what they learn.

“Big History’s not going to replace existing educational courses,” Christian told the Australian Financial Review.

“It’s not an attack on specialisation. It is simply the argument that specialisation needs to be complemented with an overview, which I think is scientific common sense.”

“It is important that the people who will be running planet Earth in 20 years understand the history of the planet.”

Game changer By 2018 Macquarie University had launched the Big History School, which offers three courses specifically tailored for age groups from eight to 18. They say it is an “educational game-changer”, which “expands the minds of students with a journey from the beginning of the universe to modern societies, to show how everything is connected.”

Christian said he wanted Big History to be more than an “optional extra” and urged for it to be included in the Australian school curriculum.

In January 2019 the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) endorsed Big History to be taught as an elective in NSW schools. In 2021, the Macquarie School of Education took on the management of the Big History course and began reviewing each

component of the program.

Christian said Big History was originally inspired by his actor wife Chardi’s interest in psychologist Carl Jung, who proposed the idea of the collective unconscious – a set of archetypes all humans share – which myths, including origin stories, explore.

He came to feel Big History was the “origin story for our times”. His bestselling 2018 book was titled Origin Story.

Christian believes modern children lack the origin story they would previously have received from elders, leaving them “without any understanding of their place in the cosmos”.

People running Earth “We live at a turning point in the history of Earth. For the first time in 4 billion years, one single species has so much power that will shape the future of the biosphere.

“It is important that the people who will be running planet Earth in 20 years understand the history of the planet and the place of humans in its history.”

The current goal is for Big History School to “complement and thread seamlessly through traditional subjects, overlapping a number of disciplines and providing all-important context to subjects that are often traditionally taught in isolation”.

Christian hopes Big History will become the “missing link”, enabling students to grasp the place of those subjects in something larger.

Regardless of whether it gains acceptance in every classroom, it’s certainly having a big impact.

The Big History Project website provides the content and support materials necessary to deliver the course and features more than 300 custom-designed and curated pieces of content, from info graphics and texts to animations. This material reaches millions of students worldwide in eight languages.

Christian says his grand-daughter was his other inspiration. He wants the world she grows up in to be informed by big-picture thinking.

“I have this fantasy that in future negotiations over climate change, instead of going into that room and saying I’m defending Chinese interests, or I’m defending Australian interests – there will also be an identity inside of each of the negotiators thinking ‘I’m also defending human interests’.”

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Opinion

With a National Curriculum in the pipeline, Australia’s history wars have reignited. IEU Professional Officer Pat Devery unpacks what this means for teachers.

Australia’s ‘history wars’ are the political and cultural tension between the ‘three cheers’ version of the nation’s history, which presents Australia as having only benefited from the arrival of the First Fleet; and the ‘black armband’ version that recognises the long history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander presence in Australia and the impact of British invasion.

In an interview on Triple J radio (‘Culture wars in the classroom’, The Hack, 7 September 2021), the then Federal Minister for Education and Youth, Alan Tudge, said he wanted to see “a positive, optimistic, and patriotic view of our history embedded in the history curriculum”. However, this represents a limited understanding of the nature of history as an academic pursuit.

Unfortunately, the former minister is not the only one to misunderstand how teachers engage with curriculum and syllabus documents. Greater respect for the professional judgement of teachers is needed.

Ancient example The former minister has also insisted on a form of history teaching that “recognises our democracy is based on our Christian and Western origins, with a reference to the importance of the values of patriotism and freedom” (Sydney Morning Herald, 6 November 2021).

And yet, as Australian National University Professor of History Frank Bongiorno has pointed out, democracy’s roots are neither Christian nor Western (Sydney Morning Herald, 6 November 2021).

It was the monarchical, rigidly hierarchical and command societies of medieval Christianity that the great minds of the enlightenment were seeking to escape when they looked to Periclean Athens for inspiration in creating a new world order.

The Parthenon, one of the great symbols of Athenian democracy, was built 432 years before the birth of Christ, celebrating the fledgling democracy’s defiant stance against its mighty eastern neighbour. Embodying the deep-seated Athenian values of patriotism and freedom, it stands as an eternal reminder that democracy’s roots lie firmly in pagan Greece.

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The Athenians were an Eastern-facing society. They traded freely with the Persians, drawing from them much of their creative and scientific inspiration. Many historians would argue Greek democracy was itself inspired by the East.

Herodotus of Halicarnassus, the ‘father of history’, hailed from the East, as did many of the Greek philosophers.

For the Greeks, ‘the West’ was an unformed idea and was largely unexplored.

Closer look Still other commentators have said the curriculum is not positive enough. But the assertion that the role of history is to teach children to love their country is naïve, echoing the ‘three cheers’ notion of history espoused by former Prime Minister John Howard.

Any fair-minded and professionally informed reading of the K-10 history syllabus would conclude that these alarmist claims are false.

In K-6, students still explore the traditional topics of family, local community, and recognition of significant events, including Australia Day and Christmas. They still investigate the origins of the nation’s various flags and coats of arms.

Primary students still revel in the adventures of Cook and Banks, the First Fleet, the gold rushes, the impact of European law, Federation, and democratic systems of government, with specific reference to the Magna Carta.

The Snowy Mountains Scheme and even the ‘Ten Pound Poms’ all get a run.

Western, Christian culture is no less present in the secondary syllabus, the traditional battleground of the conservative culture warriors.

The growth of Christianity, the Crusades, the Renaissance, and the White Australia Policy are all listed. The Anzac tradition, with specific reference to Gallipoli, was already there, but now enjoys ‘protected’ status.

Unnecessary anxiety What is it, then, that alarms the critics and why do they so deliberately misrepresent the curriculum? Perhaps it is a fundamental lack of understanding as to what a curriculum document is and how teachers use it.

A history curriculum or syllabus is not a day-to-day set of instructions. At its core, it promotes the teaching of historical

“We need to trust that our teachers are capable of making the best choices for the students in their care.”

knowledge, understanding, skills, historical perspective, evaluation of the evidence and, some would also argue, values and attitudes. While broad areas of inquiry are suggested, specific content is rarely prescribed.

Professional judgement Throughout the initial draft of the Australian Curriculum, the writers offered suggested content examples. Presumably for the sake of consistency, and no doubt to promote a much-neglected aspect of Australian history, Indigenous content examples were often chosen. So, for example, where civil rights protest movements were listed for study, the Freedom Rides of the 1960s were provided as a suggested content example.

Teachers, however, use their professional judgement to decide what content they believe would be most appropriate in fulfilling the curriculum or syllabus requirements. In making these decisions, they would consider a range of issues, including the student cohort or school context, their own personal expertise, and the resources readily available to them.

When exploring civil rights, as an alternative to studying the Freedom Rides, students in any particular class might equally find themselves researching the anti-Vietnam War protests of the 1970s or the WWI anti-conscription efforts the Catholic Church promoted under Archbishop Mannix.

To criticise the document based on a few examples of Indigenous history rather than the broad scope of inquiry that is redolent with Western and Christian content, indicates a misunderstanding of the nature and purpose of the syllabus.

Democracy at work Public debates about the curriculum are arguably a sign of democracy at work; but to suggest that some things, such as Anzac Day, are “sacred” (Triple J, The Hack, 7 September 2021) to the point they are beyond critical inquiry is not.

In their journey to becoming active and informed citizens, how children learn about history is equally as important as what they learn. Demanding that some content should somehow be quarantined from the contest of ideas runs counter to this aim.

Critical thinking is not hateful thinking. The former minister’s objections to the proposed curriculum changes are the very reason critical thinking should be taught. And a greater understanding of the work of teachers is needed.

Too many commentators place too little trust in the capacity of teachers to exercise their judgement in creating and delivering a curriculum that meets the nation’s educational goals, treats First Nations peoples with dignity and respect, and empowers the next generation as critical and informed citizens.

Undermining the credibility of the teaching profession serves no worthwhile purpose. We have already witnessed the dangerous consequences of undermining community confidence in democratic institutions: we’re seeing science and health experts, law enforcement officers and the media publicly derided by populists.

Trust in teachers History is not static and students should learn about events such as Anzac Day from various perspectives, as a way of developing their critical thinking and understanding those with differing world views to their own.

We need to trust that our teachers are capable of making the best choices for the students in their care, and we need to provide them with a national curriculum flexible enough to do so.

A nation’s trust in its institutions is the essence of a free and liberal democracy. If we are to criticise this syllabus document, and by association the profession which contributed to its design, we should at least do so accurately.

More information • ‘Old curriculum chapter reopens as history wars erupt,’ Jordan Baker, Sydney Morning Herald, 7 November 2021 • ‘Correction, Minister: Democracy’s roots are neither Christian nor Western’, Frank Bongiorno, Sydney Morning Herald, 6 November 2021 • ’Culture wars in the classroom’, interview with then Federal Education Minister Alan Tudge, Triple J, The Hack, 7 September 2021

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What

(education)

stories get published and why Mainstream media coverage is vital if you’re trying to reach the public. So it pays to understand the people who appraise your pitch, writes Will Brodie.

Herald Sun education journalist Susie O’Brien is keen to hear from you.

“We’re always looking for good story ideas, especially from people on the ground in schools. We’re often operating one level removed so we’ll always consider interesting ideas.”

She’s most excited by the “amazing, interesting or different things” people are doing in schools. O’Brien receives about 40 pitch emails a day, mostly from public relations firms. Occasionally one becomes a story. The Herald Sun runs one to three education stories most days.

O’Brien says many people are scared of the media, in part due to the era of ‘clickbait’ journalism, when sensationalism triumphed in the battle for eyeballs as news went online and business models changed dramatically.

“People think reporters are going to trick them, they’re worried about

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‘gotcha’ journalism, or that their words will be twisted to something they didn’t mean,” she said. “But we’re in this for the long haul and we take a lot of pride in our work.”

That means O’Brien and her colleagues offer sources the chance to read what they’ve written before it gets published, so they know how their words will appear in print or online.

Sources can remain anonymous if that helps. She doesn’t want to ‘burn’ a source who might provide stories in the future.

Gripping stories Adam Carey, O’Brien’s counterpart at The Age, is looking for stories “that will grip a broad range of general readers”.

“I’m fortunate to cover education because it’s a field that leaves plenty of scope for that,” Carey said.

“It could be about a political or policy change with implications for the school sector, or a research report with new and interesting findings.

“It could be a human-interest story

about something that is going on inside one school or with one student. But whatever it is, my hope is always that the story will resonate with a wide audience.

“When deciding whether or not to run with a story I make that judgement call: Why does this matter, who does it matter to and why should this story be told?”

Carey says a lot of story pitches he receives are “essentially promotional in nature”. Look away, software companies and book authors: your emails are destined for Carey’s trash folder, “even if they are sometimes promoting something that is worthy — worthiness doesn’t equal newsworthiness.”

If your story is newsworthy, Carey hopes you’re willing to put your name to it. “I’m not keen to fill my stories with anonymous quotes as I generally don’t think they serve the reader well and it’s also not good for credibility,” he said.

He adds that reporters face a “pretty relentless pace” nowadays.

Striving for fairness “Negotiating a comment or response with a short turnaround time often has its challenges,” Carey said. “So does balancing sensitive material with a short deadline. I always strive to be fair and accurate, but this is not the same thing as ensuring that everybody is happy with what the story says. It’s not the role of a journalist to be liked by everyone.”

Like O’Brien, Carey is most excited by a good human interest story.

“One of my favourites that I had the privilege of writing as education editor was the story of an Afghan refugee who was dux of his high school,” he said.

“Others are less ‘feel good’ but still resonate, such as a recent story about a family with two children with high-level autism, one of whom is no longer eligible to attend special school because her IQ has improved, even though she remains severely autistic.”

The Australian Financial Review’s (AFR) Education Editor, Julie Hare, is excited by stories that are “completely original and have a human component”.

“Stories that are unexpected and have a larger context or meaning – I love writing features that allow me space to explore issues in depth.”

Hare says anyone pitching a story to her must understand her audience. The stories she runs in the AFR are “quite different” to those she used to publish when she was higher education editor at The Australian, “because that was speaking much more to a higher-ed specific audience”.

Publishing tips “The AFR audience are business people and education is not their primary interest,” Hare said. “Private schools

trump public schools in terms of stories.” The AFR is also interested in the “parents’ perspective” on education.

Hare’s hints to get published?

“If the story is really strong, having an exclusive matters,” she said.

“Make sure the talent is fully briefed and will talk authentically in an interview. Embargoes and advance notice help – we are meant to list our stories the evening of the day before it is written which is the day before it gets published.”

“We’re always looking for good story ideas, especially from people on the ground in schools. ” And the no-nos? “PRs who send an email then ring me up 20 minutes later to see if I have it,” she said. “The point is the story needs to have value to our readers. I am bored with the whole edTech/new app thing.

“Oh, then there are the PRs who put out press releases and don’t have their talent lined up for interview. That’s annoying.

“Also being oversold stories – that when I dig deeper, it’s really just a sales pitch for something. Pitching a yarn and then wanting emailed questions.

Pitching yarns in the afternoon – even late afternoon – and expecting a response.”

Hare says journalism is “volatile and unpredictable”, and tough choices are made because of time limitations.

“That means that sometimes really good stories get overlooked because we are already committed.”

Director Jolee Wakefield also stresses the importance of understanding the audience of the media outlet you are approaching.

“While there are many important issues out there, most often when you are speaking to the public they aren’t highly engaged or necessarily interested in the issue that’s dear to your heart.

You should always think about the audience you are trying to speak to (through the media outlet) and what they value and are already interested in and aim to pique their interest that way.” Wakefield says all journalists hate: • being approached on deadline • being pitched something generic • being pitched to by someone who clearly doesn’t watch or listen to or read their coverage • waffle.

So, read, watch, and listen to your target’s recent output. Be succinct. If they’re interested, they’ll seek further information.

Wakefield says good visuals can help you jump the media queue. This includes photographs, video footage, or graphs. It is also critical to use personal stories, as “people always bring issues alive”.

She also has news for those out to change the world via Instagram or other social media platforms.

“In 2021, about a quarter of people used social media ‘primarily for news’ – so that means three in four people still turn to traditional media,” she said.

“It’s also important to note that mainstream media coverage (that is, news stories) are often shared by people on social media.

“So it’s not just a matter of where people are seeing news items, but also where those news items are originally generated.”

Understand your audience The Climate Media Centre exists to connect journalists with people whose stories “localise and personalise climate change impacts and solutions for Australians”. independent education | issue 1 | Vol 52 | 2022 | 27

Digital citizenship and media literacy In a world where fake news has become the norm, news media literacy and the broader concept of digital citizenship need to be integral parts of the Australian curriculum, Jess Willis writes.

What is media literacy and digital citizenship?

Digital citizenship is a broad term relating to the skills, knowledge and behaviours that people need to be a good or successful citizen in the digital world.

Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Professor Michael Dezuanni describes it by drawing a parallel to citizenship in the ‘offline world’.

“Just as we want to be a good citizen in the offline world, we want to have knowledge and skills to be good citizens in the online world,” Dezuanni said.

“This relates to behaving in positive ways towards other people, it relates to being safe online and it relates to being aware of the kinds of things you should be thinking about to live successfully, or to have successful online interactions with other people.”

Media literacy is an integral aspect of digital citizenship.

“Again, like in the offline world, we need access to good quality information, so that we can make good judgements about how to live our lives; whether that relates to voting for politicians, health information or purchasing decisions,” Dezuanni said.

“If we don’t have access to high-quality, reliable and trustworthy information, then all those things are made more difficult.

“This is why it is imperative we teach young people how to recognise poor quality information, or so-called fake news,“ he said.

Perceptions of news by young people Digital citizenship and media literacy need to be a priority learning area in the Australian Curriculum as well as individual schools.

We know from research that children and teenagers consume news mainly through family, friends and teachers, that young people have a broader definition of news, and that social media sites will play an increasingly important part in news media literacy.

Dezuanni was part of the research team that investigated how young Australians access, perceive and are affected by news in 2017 and 2020, with some striking key findings. In the 2020 report, the researchers found: • News consumption has become more frequent and more social for young Australians since 2017. Family is the main news source (54 percent); followed by television (36 percent); teachers (33 percent); friends (30 percent); and social media (29 percent). Only 20 percent use a news media source.

• Social media is being used more regularly for news than in 2017. Teenagers are more likely than children to use social media for news.

• Nearly half of young people pay little attention or no attention to the source of news stories they find online.

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• • • •

Only 36 percent say they know how to tell fake news from real news.

Young Australians trust their family more than any news sources; they do not have high levels of trust for news media organisations.

News is more distressing and frightening than in 2017, with most young people consuming adult news.

Young people do not believe media organisations serve them well but have ideas to make it better.

Young Australians said they receive infrequent lessons about how to critique news media. Only about one-fifth said they had lessons to help them work out whether news stories were true and could be trusted

A broader definition of news Talking about the findings, Dezuanni said the digital world and technologies have definitely changed the types of things we need to focus on when it comes to news information.

“Just as one example, previously we had a relatively straightforward definition of what news was,” he said.

“News was something on the television or in a newspaper or radio news bulletin. Now, when we ask young people about news (in both the 2017 and 2020 surveys) we found they actually have a much broader definition of news.

“We do think this is linked to digital technologies.

“They believe that if they are told some information on a social media site, whether or not it is coming from an official source, they still count that as news.

“So, they might just receive a message from a friend about something going on in the world and they call that news, and they have a tendency to place this in the same bucket as news from a TV station for instance,” he said.

“The other interesting thing that came up in our study is that young people will say they believe and find more trustworthy news that they get from friends and family, more than any other sources, including official news sources.

“This is sort of surprising in some respects, and concerning in some respects, because of course there is no guarantee that what they are being told by family and friends is true or accurate,” he said.

Still merit in editorial process Dezuanni said one of the things digital media has shown us is that there is still merit in the editorial process of news production and journalistic standards and we should be teaching young people how to question what they see properly.

“It’s not a perfect process. We know that sometimes journalists can be biased in how they write a story, editors can go for a quick headline to attract readers but that could be slightly misleading,” he said.

“Nonetheless, at least in most journalism there is a process of trying to be accurate, of trying to check sources and trying to ensure that sources of information are coming from more than one place.”

However, it’s critical we teach children from a young age how to critique news by checking the sources and veracity

of claims as well as understanding bias, agendas and commercial interests of news organisations.

Dezuanni said these concepts can be introduced in primary school. “I think teaching basic verification skills is important – and by that, I mean teaching how to verify if a story is accurate or not,” he said.

“So, if you read a weird headline and think, that sounds interesting but I’m not really sure if that’s true or not, then teach students how to double check to see if the story is coming up on any mainstream sources for instance.

“I would also say teaching critical thinking around what we share online ourselves is important; for example, pausing and not just posting something the moment you read it.

“We need to teach people to ask themselves ‘is this something I really need to repost?’ ‘Is it going to make a positive contribution to the internet?’ Or is it just negativity or something that will cause problems?’” he said.

Dezuanni explained that, generally, it’s also important to teach the concept of algorithmic literacy, as it is expected the percentage of young people accessing news from social media platforms will increase.

However, as a ‘cutting-edge’ issue it is going to be very complex.

“It’s not always clear how an algorithm is working, and technology companies don’t really provide much information on that either, so it can be a challenge to develop resources on.

“It definitely needs to be one of the directions things need to go.

Professional development key Dezuanni said media literacy has to play an important part in classroom lessons but there are barriers for teachers that need to be resolved.

“We should be seeing more than 20 percent of kids saying that they have studied the news critically – we’d prefer that number to be way higher – and we need teachers to have professional development so they can get their heads around digital platforms, which are very complicated and continually change,” he said.

“That’s a big problem for teachers, they might get their heads around one set of information but then two months later the platform has changed how it does things.”

Michael said many teachers find they need to focus on other areas of the curriculum that are priorities nationally or in their schools.

“We need media literacy to be seen as a higher priority over all and then we need to provide teachers with goodquality professional development with practical examples they can take back to the classroom,” he said.

Some good resources Dezuanni recommends for teachers include: • the Alannah and Madeline Foundation website • the Media Literacy section on ABC Education • the Museum of Australian Democracy resources accompanying the exhibit ‘Truth, Freedom and a Free Press’.

The full 2017 and 2020 reports, along with further research into the news literacy of young people and adults can be found here: westernsydney.edu.au/medialiteracy Professor Michael Dezuanni is a digital media and learning researcher with national standing in the field of media literacy education. He also reserches children’s participation on digital platforms. He is currently a Program Leader for Digital Inclusion and Participation at QUT’s Digital Media Research Centre. His earliest digital memory is playing Space Invaders at the local corner store.

“Teaching critical thinking around what we share online ourselves is important, for example, pausing and not just posting something the moment you read it.” independent education | issue 1 | Vol 52 | 2022 | 29

RE-IMAGINING assessment in Australian schools There is a gap between what we measure in schools and what matters to us as a society, writes Sara Ratner, a PhD canidate at the University of Sydney’s Centre for Educational Measurement and Assessment.

The COVID-related school closures of the past two years have taught us a great deal about the Australian education system. As homes became virtual classrooms and Public Health Orders prevailed, the interplay of the state and federal political systems was evident and the impact of policy decisions on educational experience was clear.

The pandemic has highlighted our education system’s agility, its inequity and, perhaps most critically, its value.

While reflecting on this, it is perhaps timely to consider what learnings from the pandemic may influence our education system moving forward. In particular, how can we best measure system-wide success? What are we measuring and are those results empowering educators to make the right decisions?

Defining event School communities were in a state of prolonged ambiguity as the new school year began. Recently, a school principal from Cairns shared a story of the ‘Stockdale Paradox’ (Collins, 2001). This refers to Admiral Stockdale, imprisoned in the ‘Hanoi Hilton’ [a prison] during the Vietnam war, who described the struggle of maintaining faith that you will prevail in the end (which one must never lose) while also facing a bleak reality.

This paradox echoes the plight of every educator as they commenced the new academic year. Pertinently, Admiral Stockdale said that not only was he determined to survive the ordeal, he was also determined for it to become a defining event in his life.

It is easy to imagine the same for our schools. Together, educators must hold on to the faith that we will get

through this while facing the bleak reality of staff shortages and student absences. Yet, this moment can become a defining event, a turning point for Australian schools.

Current framework Australia’s system-wide success in education is judged using the National Assessment Program (NAP) which determines whether young Australians are meeting important educational outcomes (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), 2018).

The NAP is overseen by the Education Council and managed

by ACARA. It includes NAPLAN (Literacy and Numeracy); NAP Sample Assessments; Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS); Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS); and the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).

Clearly, the Measurement Framework for Schooling (ACARA, 2015) relies heavily upon data generated through standardised testing and national surveys designed to provide comparability with other education systems around the world, or state and territory performance over time.

This framework – which reflects the purpose, values and identity of the Australian school system – measures system-wide performance.

What we value It is imperative that Australia’s goals for schooling align with what matters to us as a society.

In the opening statement of the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration (Council of Australian Governments, 2019), Australia’s Education Ministers express the need for every child to realise their potential by providing them with the skills they need to participate in the

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economy and in society, and by contributing to every aspect of their wellbeing.

Yet while our goals for schooling may address our desires for healthy, active and well-informed global citizens capable of creative thinking and problem solving, it appears we do not currently have a measurement framework that provides evidence of how we are tracking against these critical goals.

The success of a school system is far more than its scores on a test (Masters, 2019). Currently, we use three key performance measures: participation; achievement; and attainment (Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs, 2008).

However, it is evident our schools are achieving on much broader outcomes than those currently measured.

True success It is the stories behind the learning achievements and the growth students have achieved that truly indicate a school’s success. Yet we have failed to capture this adequately when discussing Australian schools at the macro level.

It is time to examine the intersection between what we value and what we measure in Australian schools in order to locate what really matters. We need to move beyond discussing the tests we employ to measure our success, and to unpack the means, motivation and manner behind them.

Every assessment is laden with cultural, political and social context that must be openly acknowledged.

Unpacking the power at play is essential in order to attest to the reliability and applicability of the data it generates. This means not only examining the values we openly attest to in Australian schools, but the inherent values laden in

the test construction and design.

Owing to the gap between what we measure and what matters to us as a society, we find ourselves in a challenging situation where what we are measuring begins to matter most.

Too often we are busy relying on standardised scores as the measure where it is really our equity and excellence goals that ought to matter.

Tognolini and Mowbray (2020) argue that researchers must investigate all available evidence relating to any issue so as to produce defensible decision making. This has never been more important than when assessing the success of the Australian school system.

In examining the toolkit currently used to attest to system-wide success, let’s consider assessment tools that reflect the creativity, character and critical thinking that our students develop during their years of compulsory schooling.

Shifting our focus away from academic success will enable students to demonstrate their skills and competencies in preparation for active participation as citizens of the world (Fullan, 2021).

Any school system deemed to be excellent must be measured in a manner that encompasses not only academic test scores but also by the development of human qualities and interpersonal skills needed to thrive in society (Levin, 2012).

Pandemic’s impact Many papers currently address ‘learning lost’ as a result of the pandemic (Brown et al., 2020; Drane et al., 2020; Gore et al., 2021). Yet readers of such articles could be forgiven for correlating this with a narrow view of learning that equates to academic success and grades. When addressing ‘learning loss’ as a result of the pandemic, it implies that the only kind of learning is that gained through the traditional classroom environment (Fullan, 2021).

However, there is much learning that occurs as a result of the

social contact in the classroom and playground context too. This is often referred to as the ‘hidden curriculum’ and is vital in understanding one’s role in society (Hafferty, 1998).

The kindergarten child learning to stand in line, wait their turn or raise their hand to speak is mastering important life skills that are challenging to replicate in a virtual classroom.

It is imperative that when speaking of the pandemic’s impact on learning we look beyond the grades and form an integrated view of wellbeing and academic learning that best represents the complex, volatile and evolving world our students are destined to occupy (Fullan, 2021).

References Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2015).

Measurement Framework for Schooling in Australia.

Australia.

Brown, N., Te Riele, K., Shelley, B., & Woodroffe, J. (2020). Learning at home during COVID-19: Effects on vulnerable young Australians.

Collins, J. (2001). Good to great.

Random House Business Books.

“It is the stories behind the learning achievements and the growth students have achieved that truly indicate a school’s success.”

Agency and voice There is a gap in the National Assessment Program when it comes to the emotional wellbeing of students, teachers and school leaders. If we are to be sincere in our appraisal of the education system it is imperative that we re-imagine a National Assessment Program that affords its stakeholders agency and voice to generate a holistic view of what success looks like.

Looking to the future and seeking to make the lessons of the pandemic a defining moment in our education system, let’s embrace the opportunity to gain ground on measures that matter and generate a picture of success that reflects the culture, character and competency of Australian schools.

Council of Australian Governments Education Council (2019) Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration.

South Carlton: Education Council Secretariat. Available at: https:// docs.education.gov.au/documents/ alice-springs-mparntwe-educationdeclaration Drane, C., Vernon, L., & O’Shea, S. (2020). The impact of ‘learning at home’ on the educational outcomes of vulnerable children in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Literature Review Prepared by the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education. Curtin University, Australia.

Fullan, M. (2021). The right drivers for whole system success. Centre for Strategic Education.

Gore, J., Fray, L., Miller, A., Harris, J., & Taggart, W. (2021). The impact of COVID-19 on student learning in New South Wales primary schools: an empirical study. The Australian Educational Researcher, 48(4), 605637.

Hafferty F. W. (1998).

Beyond curriculum reform: confronting medicine’s hidden curriculum. Academic medicine, Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges, 73(4), 403–407.

Levin, H. (2012). More than just test scores. Prospects, 42, 269-284.

Masters, G. (2019). Nurturing wonder and igniting passion: Designs for a future school curriculum. NSW Curriculum Review Interim Report.

Sydney, Australia: NSW Education Standards Authority.

Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs.

(2008). Melbourne declaration on educational goals for young Australians.

Tognolini, J., & Mowbray, B. (2019).

Excellence, Equity and Evidence: How do we know? Sydney, Australia: Catholic Schools NSW.

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The case for financial education in schools

Experts say students need dedicated financial education. But money is about far more than notes and coins these days, writes Will Brodie.

Writing in The Age, academics Peter Saffin, Dr Carly Sawatzki and Dr Jill Brown insisted schools must prioritise financial education because of an “increase in financial scams, banks and financial institutions being banned from providing branded programs to schools and a new breed of ‘finfluencers’ looking set to slip into their place”.

Other challenges faced by students include: the rise of cryptocurrency; the shift in responsibility for retirement planning moving to individuals; social media shysters; and ultra-low interest rates encouraging speculation.

In Australia, the discussion about financial literacy reignited when the Commonwealth Bank’s Dollarmites school banking program was axed in NSW in late October 2021, effective from the start of 2022, following similar bans in the ACT, Queensland, and Victoria.

Mathematics teacher Eddie Woo, host of ABC’s finance show Teenage Boss, said children and teenagers are constantly assailed by advertisements for money management apps and buy-now-pay-later services, but rarely handle cash, and students have “a completely skewed sense of how much things cost”.

On the other hand, students are financially active from a young age and “observe financial transactions when shopping, make purchasing decisions using cash and gift cards, and have probably purchased game-based currency,” wrote Saffin, Sawatzki and Brown.

Avoiding the dark side They say it’s important to prepare students to “transact safely online and via apps and read and interpret digital financial statements like what they’ll see via mobile banking, Medicare and MyGov”.

“Fintech is changing the way we transact and manage our money. A desire to fit in, cashless spending, and easy access to credit can lead to costly mistakes for teenagers and young adults.”

They say studying the pitfalls of modern finances benefits students. Cue horror stories of shopaholics, addiction to video games (and their in-game purchases) and sports betting. Exploring the “dark side” of finance develops scepticism, resilience and “an ethics of care in how they use money”.

Young people must also learn to identify and assess the risks and rewards associated with more complex financial products and services.

Real-life experiences The Australian curriculum includes aspects of finance in various subjects, but Saffin, Sawatzki and Brown say they are unrelated

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to real-life experiences, and teachers “tend to lack confidence and knowledge of best practice”.

They want programs taught by qualified educators and support to prioritise financial education from policymakers and curriculum and content developers.

More than 100,000 Australians agreed, signing a petition launched

by Scott Pape, author of the bestseller Barefoot Investor to bring a “financial revolution” to Australian schools.

Lecturers Emily Ross and Margaret Marshman say the financial literacy ‘sub-strand’ which currently exists within the Australian Curriculum is “clearly not enough”.

“The financial literacy performance of Australian 15-year-olds in the OECD’s 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) financial literacy assessment fell by 15 points (or half a year of schooling) since 2012,” they wrote for The Conversation.

“And yet, the draft of the revised Australian Curriculum downgrades financial literacy even further.”

They fear the current structure, which lacks explicit guidelines in the curriculum, means financial teaching will be ‘haphazard’ across schools, and classrooms.

“If the Australian Curriculum doesn’t value financial maths, then other states and territories can choose not to include it.

Embedded in maths She says the Australian Curriculum must “embed” financial literacy concepts into maths lessons so kids will grow up with the financial knowledge they need “to make important decisions and participate meaningfully in society and the economy”.

In the US, 24 states now require that high schools offer a personal finance course, up from just seven states in 2000.

“Financial coach” Kalen Bruce says 80 percent of US adults say they could use help with their finances, and 99 percent of them want financial education in schools.

Financial journalist William Jolly, writing for comparison site savings.com.au, quotes a 2019 ME Bank survey which found 40 percent of Australians wished they’d been taught more about money as a child, 60 percent are stressed by financial issues and 75 percent of us believe our schools are not doing enough “to

teach essential financial skills to the next generations”.

Catherine Attard, Associate Professor in Mathematics Education at Western Sydney University, agrees that financial literacy needs to be made more explicit in the Australian Curriculum.

A lot to learn She says students leaving school must understand “basic money management, the financial implications of subscriptions to services such as gym memberships, mobile phone plans and even TV streaming services.

“They need to understand credit card debt, buy-now-paylater schemes, student loans, superannuation, taxation and of course the traditional lending structures of personal loans and mortgages.”

“Teenagers are assailed by ads for money apps and buy-now-pay-later services, but they rarely handle cash.

So they have a skewed sense of how much things cost.”

She suggests secondary courses cover budgeting, lending (personal loans, credit cards, mortgages), tax, superannuation, and consumer literacy (understanding ‘best buys’ etc).

“For primary students, simpler concepts such as budgeting, consumer literacy (looking at best buys relating to shopping, mobile phones, etcZ) and simple borrowing concepts could be integrated into existing curricula.”

Dr Carly Sawatzki, Lecturer of Education at Deakin University, also contributed to an ATO report which concluded financial literacy should be its own subject.

“Students stand to benefit from an explicit focus on economics and finance at school and dedicated subject offerings are a great way to achieve this,” Dr Sawatzki told savings.com.au.

New threats “Finance topics are often presented in ways that are dry and boring. Yet schools and teachers seem highly motivated to shake things up and recognise that students enjoy and benefit from lessons exploring economic and financial issues.

“Government-funded teacher professional learning, together with the development of topical, innovative resources would be valued by schools and teachers.”

Dr Sawatzki says research shows that young people distrust banks and credit cards, and worry about personal debt, but they find buynow-pay-later services like Afterpay “very appealing”.

And there are new threats in the same vein. A national survey

by Finder.com found 8 percent of Australians — equivalent to more than 1.5 million people — have used a payon-demand service like Beforepay to access their salary ahead of time.

“They’re payday lenders on the internet,” the chief executive of Financial Counselling Australia, Fiona Guthrie, told AAP. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission confirmed pay-on-demand products like Beforepay fall outside responsible lending obligations, which means there is no legal requirement to check affordability before a person signs up.

Guthrie said pay-on-demand services inevitably target people who may have financial literacy issues.

Dr Sawatzki says such “financial and technological innovation” is changing how financial topics are taught at school. That includes lessons on comparing the fee structure of buy-now-pay-later services with “traditional” credit cards.

She says improving financial literacy in schools helps society as well as individuals.

“On an individual basis, our young people will leave school being able to make sound financial decisions relating to their personal finances,” she said.

“Such decisions may have long term impacts on their life options.

“Similarly, a strong understanding of consumer and financial literacy can lead our young people to question unfair structures in our society, leading to improved, equitable systems.”

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Pointing to a new way of learning

New research has reinforced what Maria Montessori worked out 100 years ago. Finger tracing enhances learning, Sue Osborne writes.

Finger tracing can help improve learning in many different contexts, and at any age. Researchers found finger tracing makes learning faster, easier, and more motivating, and it can help school-age students or even adults tasked with complex maths problems, not just preschoolers learning their letters and numbers.

Back in 1912 Maria Montessori was encouraging young children to trace over letters of the alphabet made from sandpaper with their index fingers, based on the intuition that a multi-sensory approach (that is, visual, auditory, tactile, and kinaesthetic) to learning would be most effective.

Montessori noticed that children, after mastering the sequence of tracing a letter with their index finger, “took great pleasure” in closing their eyes and trying to recall it.

The Montessori approach has a strong emphasis on providing a range of experiences, with the belief that active use of the senses will enable children to classify, discriminate, evaluate and sequence.

Finger tracing with sandpaper is just one aspect of Montessori’s belief that the child’s “absorbent mind” could effortlessly assimilate the sensory stimuli from the environment, including language, culture and the development of concepts (Theories into Practice, 2015).

Sydney University psychologist Paul Ginns believes finger tracing is effective for learning because humans are wired to use their hands from birth.

“Gesturing is such a fundamental part of being human.

Babies start using their index finger to poke and prod things, it’s an automatic learning activity,” Ginns said.

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“It makes sense that using the finger and your imagination would enhance the brain’s ability to process and memorise information.”

Ginns became interested in this line of research after witnessing a high school student shut his eyes and trace a triangle in the air while trying to solve a geometry puzzle.

“Why would this activity enhance his learning? I was intrigued.” He has pursued this idea in two recent studies (with other researchers) to test his theories on finger tracing.

Study one In the first study published in Educational Psychology Review, 93 Year 4 and 5 students from a school in Shanghai, China were being taught about the properties of angles in a triangle.

The control group were instructed to leave their arms by their sides. The tracing group traced the shapes, and the tracing/imagination group were instructed to trace the shape with their eyes open, then close their eyes and imagine the tracing.

Following this, all groups completed a 13-item questionnaire that measured motivation and different types of cognitive load during the learning process.

A further experiment investigated whether these findings could be generalised to a new mathematics topic (mental mathematics); a different age group (tertiary students); and an alternative format (tracing out ellipses in difficult ‘mental mathematics’ examples).

A mini meta-analysis combining the results of the two experiments showed that students who traced the shapes solved similar problems faster.

Students who traced also reported lower levels of cognitive load and higher levels of intrinsic motivation

during the lesson, compared to those in the control group.

In some instances, tracing then imagining resulted in faster solution times for test questions than tracing alone.

Study two The second study, published in Educational Technology Research and Development, involved adult participants.

It considered how instructions to point at and trace over elements of a lesson on the lifecycle of a star on a computer screen would help them learn.

Forty-four people were pre-tested on their knowledge of astronomy, then during the lesson they were instructed to either ‘use their hands’ to make links between text and an associated part of the diagram or to keep their hands in their laps. The first group reported lower cognitive load and higher interest and enjoyment of the lesson.

Importantly, when tested on what they’d learned, students who used their hands while studying not only remembered more basic facts from the lesson but were also able to transfer that understanding to solve problems not directly covered in the lesson.

“We’re not simply disembodied minds floating around the universe, we actually do have bodies and they can matter for learning.”

Why tracing works “There are multiple reasons why tracing can help learning,” Ginns said.

“It seems that humans are biologically wired so that we pay closer attention to the space near our hands. So, when using an index finger to trace visual stimuli, these elements of a lesson receive processing priority.

“Tracing can also assist learning because it ‘chunks’ all the important elements of new material into one piece of information, making it easier for us to learn.”

Having practised martial arts, Ginns compared the process to

developing muscle memory in sport.

“If you do the same move over and over, it becomes embedded in the brain,” he said.

“We’re not simply disembodied minds floating around the universe, we actually do have bodies and they can matter for learning.

“As early childhood teachers know, young children are joyously and abundantly within their bodies, so it’s an ideal time to use this kind of bodily learning.

“We undervalue the body as a means of learning. Early childhood settings usually embody these practices, but it’s worthwhile knowing there’s some more up-to-date research that enhances what Montessori was putting forward 100 years ago, that you’re on the right track in encouraging physical play, especially finger tracing.”

Ginns believes more widespread use of finger tracing

for all age groups could improve Australian students’ performance in areas such as maths.

“Although Australian schools are trending upwards in terms of maths and science performance, there’s still room for improvement.

“Our research shows that tracing and imagination strategies can help. They are cost-free, simple, and can be easily implemented in any early childhood setting or classrooms, across a range of lesson topics and media.”

More information

• Wang, B, Ginns, P & Mockler, N, Sequencing Tracing with Imagination. Educ Psychol Rev 2021, doi.org/10.1007/s10648-021-09625-6 • Ginns, P, King, V Pointing and tracing enhance computerbased learning, Education Tech Research Dev 69, 2021, doi.org/10.1007/s11423-021-09997-0 • Nolan, A and Raban, B, Theories into Practice, Teaching Solutions, 2015

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