Dr. John Ainley Copyright (c) 2012 All rights reserved. http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley Recent documents in Dr. John Ainley en-us Wed, 11 Jan 2012 01:41:01 PST 3600 ICCS 2009 Technical Report http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/144 http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/144 Mon, 09 Jan 2012 04:21:58 PST The International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) studied the ways in which young people are prepared to undertake their roles as citizens. ICCS was based on the premise that preparing students for citizenship roles involves developing relevant knowledge and understanding as well as helping them form positive attitudes toward being a citizen and participating in activities related to civic and citizenship education. It also examined differences among countries in relation to these outcomes of civic and citizenship education, and it explored how differences among countries relate to student characteristics, school and community contexts, and national characteristics. This report is structured so as to provide technical detail about each aspect of ICCS. The chapters cover: test development, questionnaire development, development of regional instruments, translation and national adaptations of ICCS 2009 instruments, sampling design and implementation, sampling weights and participation rates, ICCS survey operations procedures, quality assurance in the ICCS data collection, data management and creation of the ICCS international database, scaling procedures for ICCS test items, scaling procedures for ICCS questionnaire items, and the reporting of ICCS results.

]]> Wolfram Schulz et al. The Contribution of IEA Research Studies to Australian Education http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/143 http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/143 Mon, 09 Jan 2012 04:21:56 PST This chapter is concerned with the contribution of the research studies conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) to Australian education. During a period of 50 years education across the world has undergone a remarkable transformation. Many of the changes that have occurred have been initiated by the United Nations Organization and its agen¬cies, particularly UNESCO. From its origins within the UNESCO Institute in Hamburg, IEA and its programs have evolved to develop the worldwide conduct of research in education both through the undertaking and reporting of studies as well as the informal training of research workers to participate in these studies. Consequently, the large group of people who have been involved in the IEA studies together with their colleagues have built a new world vision of education in schools. This vision that extends beyond the boundaries of western Europe and North America has been presented in the two editions of the International Encyclopaedia of Education with its numerous Handbooks as well as an electronic version named the Complete Encyclopaedia.

]]> John Ainley et al. Navigating the transition from school to work: Implications for the emotional well-being of young people http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/142 http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/142 Mon, 09 Jan 2012 04:21:54 PST Julie McMillan et al. Health and well being Educational attainment and transitions from school International Civic and Citizenship Education Study : Assessment Framework http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/141 http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/141 Mon, 09 Jan 2012 04:21:52 PST The aim of ICCS is to report on student achievement on a test of conceptual knowledge and understandings in civic and citizenship education. It also intends to collect and analyze data about student dispositions and attitudes relating to civic and citizenship education. This publication contains the ICCS assessment framework, which provides the blueprint for the assessment of the outcomes of civic and citizenship education. An important feature of ICCS is the establishment of regional modules. Regional modules compromise groups of countries from the same geographic region that together administer additional instruments to assess region-specific aspects of civic and citizenship education. Three regional modules have been implemented as part of ICCS for participating countries in the regions of Europe, Latin America, and Asia respectively. The following instruments are administered as part of the ICCS survey: an international cognitive student test; a student questionnaire; a regional student instrument; a teacher questionnaire; a school questionnaire; and an online national contexts survey. The assessment framework provides a conceptual underpinning for the international instrumentation for ICCS and has also been a point of reference for the development of regional instruments.

]]> Wolfram Schulz et al. John Keeves and the Australian Council for Educational Research http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/140 http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/140 Mon, 09 Jan 2012 04:21:50 PST This book has been produced as a tribute to the work and contributions of ACER's 3rd chief executive. Professor John Keeves on the occasion of his 85th birthday. Professor Keeves has made substantial contributions to key research studies, especially in mathematics and science education. His work laid the foundations for large scale assessments of student learning that are common place today and for better understanding the complex relationships between students home background, school factors and achievement.

]]> Rebecca Leech et al. The International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/139 http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/139 Sun, 08 Jan 2012 16:23:02 PST The IEA International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) investigated the ways in which young people are prepared for, and consequently ready and able to undertake their roles as citizens. Consequently, it studied student knowledge and understanding of civics and citizenship as well as affective and behavioral aspects of civics and citizenship such as value beliefs, attitudes, intended behaviors and current activities related to civic and citizenship education. Contextual data from education systems and schools were analyzed to help explain variation in these outcome variables. ICCS built on the previous IEA studies of civic education (Arnadeo et. al., 2002; Schulz & Sibberns, 2004; Torney-Purta et. al., 2001). In 1971 the IEA Civic Education Study included a 47 item test for 14 year olds in nine countries (Torney, Oppenheim & Farnen, 1975). In 1999 the IEA CIVED study included a 38 item test for 14 year old students in 28 countries (Torney-Purta et. al., 2001) and a 42 item test for 17-18 year olds in 16 countries (Amadeo et. al., 2002). Another chapter in this volume provides a history of these studies from the late 1960s to 2005 (Torney-Purta & Schwille, 2011). In addition to building on these studies ICCS is a response to the challenge of educating young people in changed contexts of democracy and civic participation.

]]> Wolfram Schulz et al. Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) ICCS 2009 International Report: Civic knowledge, attitudes and engagement among lower secondary school students in thirty-eight countries. http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/138 http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/138 Sun, 11 Sep 2011 19:15:55 PDT The International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) studied the ways in which countries prepare their young people to undertake their roles as citizens. ICCS was based on the premise that preparing students for citizenship roles involves helping them develop relevant knowledge and understanding and form positive attitudes toward being a citizen and participating in activities related to civic and citizenship education. These notions were elaborated in the ICCS framework, which was the first publication to emerge from ICCS (Schulz, Fraillon, Ainley, Losito, & Kerr, 2008).

]]> Wolfram Schulz et al. ICCS 2009 Latin American Report : civic knowledge and attitudes among lower-secondary students in six Latin American countries http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/137 http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/137 Sun, 11 Sep 2011 19:15:52 PDT The International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) focused on the ways in which young people are prepared to undertake their roles as citizens. Preparing students for citizenship involves developing relevant knowledge and understanding as well as encouraging the formation of positive attitudes toward being a citizen. Descriptions of the conceptual background for and the design of ICCS appear in the publication detailing the ICCS assessment framework (Schulz, Fraillon, Ainley, Losito, & Kerr, 2008). Regional contexts are important for civic and citizenship education because they shape how people undertake their roles as citizens. ICCS included, in addition to the core international survey, regional modules in Europe, Latin America, and Asia. This report from ICCS focuses on the six countries that participated in the study’s Latin American regional module. It is based on a regional student survey and an assessment of knowledge specific to the region as well as on data from the international student and school instruments. We recommend viewing this Latin American report within the context of the international reports on the findings from ICCS (Schulz, Ainley, Fraillon, Kerr & Losito, 2010a, 2010b). The results reported in this publication are based on data gathered from random samples of almost 30,000 students in their eighth year of schooling in more than 1,000 schools from the six ICCS Latin American countries. The regional module for Latin America was connected to a broader initiative known as the Regional System for the Development and Evaluation of Citizenship Competencies (SREDECC), the aim of which is to establish a common regional framework for citizenship competencies, basic criteria for effective citizenship education, and a system for evaluating the outcomes of this area of education. The Latin American module of ICCS investigated variations in civic knowledge across the ICCS Latin American countries as well as region-specific aspects of civic knowledge. It generated information about students’ perceptions of public institutions, forms of government, corrupt practices, and obedience to the law. The data gathered also gave insight into students’ dispositions with respect to peaceful coexistence. This body of data included information on students’ attitudes toward their country and the Latin American region, sense of empathy, tolerance toward minorities, and attitudes toward use of violence. Data also allowed exploration of the contexts for learning about citizenship, namely, home, school, and community. The report also profiles the particular context for civic and citizenship education evident in each of the six countries. Common themes across all six ICCS Latin American countries in relation to the curricular agenda for citizenship included the following: violent conflict, democracy, general interest in sustainable development and the environment, issues related to globalization, tolerance, and plurality, and the social and political inclusion of large, formerly excluded segments of society. The countries deemed civic and citizenship education important. In three of the six countries, this area of education had been the focus of public debate. Most of the countries had seen a broadening of civic and citizenship education toward the inclusion of democratic values and participatory skills. However, the data also show that evaluation and assessment of civic and citizenship content were not common practice. The countries participating in this study were: Mexico, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Columbia, Paraguay and Chile.

]]> Wolfram Schulz et al. Attitudes to School, Educational Intentions and Participations http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/136 http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/136 Thu, 28 Jul 2011 22:14:58 PDT Siek Toon Khoo et al. Examining the use of ICT in mathematics and science teaching http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/135 http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/135 Thu, 28 Jul 2011 22:14:56 PDT Australian science and mathematics teachers are leaders in the use
of ICT in school education according to an international comparative
study, and ACER is set to lead further research in this area.
John Ainley explains.

]]> John Ainley ICT in the Teaching of Science and Mathematics in Year 8 in Australia: report from the IEA Second International Technology in Education Study (SITES) survey http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/134 http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/134 Thu, 03 Mar 2011 16:17:00 PST The IEA Second International Technology in Education Study (SITES) is an international comparative research program studying the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in education. Its central focus is on understanding how ICT affects the way teaching and learning takes place in schools. In many educational systems there is a desire to use ICT to support changes in teaching and learning and policies have been implemented to promote the use of ICT by equipping schools with computers and network connections, training teachers in the use of ICT and providing digital resources. Although there is a growing body of research on the educational effects of ICT, much of it is based on intensive studies of small samples. SITES, however, surveyed large representative samples of schools using questionnaires with established psychometric properties so that variations within, and among, countries in the links between ICT and pedagogy could be investigated. The SITES project was conducted internationally in 22 countries during 2006 and then implemented in Australia as a comparison study in 2007.

]]> John Ainley et al. ICT literacy on target http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/133 http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/133 Thu, 24 Feb 2011 21:32:01 PST Australian students have a high level of technological literacy, but schools must continue to provide systematic and explicit teaching of information and communication technology, as John Ainley reports.

]]> John Ainley Initial Findings from the IEA International Civic and Citizenship Education Study http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/132 http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/132 Wed, 06 Oct 2010 15:30:23 PDT The 2009 IEA study of civic and citizenship education (ICCS), conducted in 38 countries around the world, built on the previous IEA studies of civic education, but took place in a context characterized by significant societal change, including the rapid development of new communication technologies, increased movement of people between countries, and the growth of supranational organizations. The data gathered from more than 140,000 students and 62,000 teachers in over 5,300 schools during the course of the study offers information that countries and education systems worldwide can use to inform and improve policy and practice in civic and citizenship education.

This report of the initial findings is the first in a series of publications presenting the study outcomes. The next report will draw on a wider range of data than that presented in this present publication, and it will provide more extensive analyses of student knowledge and attitudes in relation to characteristics of teachers, schools, and communities. It will be followed by three regional reports for Asia, Europe, and Latin America. These will focus on issues related to civic and citizenship education that are of special interest in those parts of the world. IEA will also publish an encyclopedia on approaches to civic and citizenship education in all participating countries, and a technical report documenting procedures and providing evidence of the high quality of the data that were collected. IEA will also make available an international database that the broader research community can use for secondary analysis.

]]> Wolfram Schulz et al. Apprenticeships and Traineeships: Participation, Progress and Completion http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/131 http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/131 Wed, 06 Oct 2010 15:30:22 PDT This Briefing draws together findings from two LSAY Research Reports: Participation in and Progress through New Apprenticeships; and the VET Pathways Taken by School Leavers. They report on the characteristics of young people who become apprentices and traineers, their points of entry to, and patterns of progress, and completion of training.

]]> John Ainley et al. What can Australian students do with computers? http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/130 http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/130 Thu, 17 Jun 2010 20:35:13 PDT This article describes the latest findings of the National Assessment Program- ICT Literacy, conducted by ACER for the Australian government, which show some mixed results in Australian students’ proficiency with computers.

]]> John Ainley In the Balance - the future of Australia's primary schools http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/127 http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/127 Thu, 17 Jun 2010 20:35:11 PDT In the Balance is the report of an investigation into the state of Australian primary schooling, based mainly on evidence provided by staff from a random sample of 160 primary schools.
In 2005, the Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) funded the Australian Primary Principals Association (APPA) to initiate the investigation. APPA in turn commissioned a research team from Edith Cowan University and the Australian Council for Educational Research to undertake the study.
Generally, participating principals and teachers were grateful for the opportunity to ‘have their say’. In their view, too little account is taken in the arena of national and State policy making of the views of the professionals who actually do the work of primary education.

]]> Maxwell Angus et al. In the Balance - the future of Australia's primary schools http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/125 http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/125 Thu, 17 Jun 2010 20:35:10 PDT Research BackgroundIn the Balance is the report of an investigation into the state of Australian primary schooling, based mainly on evidence provided by staff from a random sample of 160 primary schools.
Research Contribution In 2005, the Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) funded the Australian Primary Principals Association (APPA) to initiate the investigation. APPA in turn commissioned a research team from Edith Cowan University and the Australian Council for Educational Research to undertake the study.
Research Significance Generally, participating principals and teachers were grateful for the opportunity to ‘have their say’. In their view, too little account is taken in the arena of national and State policy making of the views of the professionals who actually do the work of primary education.

]]> Maxwell Angus et al. National assessment program : ICT literacy years 6 & 10 report 2008 http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/124 http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/124 Mon, 26 Apr 2010 23:11:15 PDT This report presents the findings from the National Assessment Program –ICT literacy assessment conducted in 2008 under the auspices of the national council of education ministers, the Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs (MCEECDYA). National samples of Year 6 and Year 10 students were assessed to determine their levels of confidence, creativity and skill development in the use of information and communication technologies.

This report compares the results of Australian school students by state and territory and student sub-groups, and provides details of their achievement against an ICT literacy scale. It also enables the most recent achievements of students to be compared against those from the first national assessment of ICT literacy conducted in 2005. A survey of student access to, and use of, computers was conducted as part of the ICT literacy assessment and it provides an interesting insight into how students are using their access to new technologies.

]]> John Ainley et al. The Measurement of Language Background, Culture and Ethnicity for the Reporting of Nationally Comparable Outcomes of Schooling http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/123 http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/123 Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:41:20 PST Report for the National Education Performance Monitoring Taskforce. MCEETYA (Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs) .

]]> John Ainley et al. The Measurement of Socioeconomic Status for the Reporting of Nationally Comparable Outcomes of Schooling http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/122 http://works.bepress.com/john_ainley/122 Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:41:19 PST The main purpose of this discussion paper is to develop a common definition of socioeconomic position to be used for reporting of nationally comparable outcomes of schooling within the context of the statement of National Goals for Schooling in the Twentyfirst Century. Report for the National Education Performance Monitoring Taskforce. MCEETYA

]]> Gary Marks et al.