Volume 15 Issue 1

The National Quality Standard (NQS) is the benchmark for quality in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) within Australia. The Australian Government positioned reflective practice at the core of the NQS (ACECQA, 2013) in order to raise standards and inform future planning and decision making (COAG, 2009; Kennedy, 2011). Critical reflection was identified as foundational to good practice with educators expected to engage in a 'lively culture of professional inquiry' (DEEWR, 2009, p. 13) with reflection ensuring a way of continued improvement to raise standards. This paper reports on a research study that explored the impact and implementation of critical reflection as part of the NQS in ECEC. This research identified that critical reflection positively impacts ECEC operations and also positively impacts the learning environment of ECEC centres.

My name is Tamara Bernoth - I am one of our Deputy Principals at Prescott Primary Northern in South Australia. Although heartbroken, it is my absolute honour and privilege to share on behalf of our Prescott family, some memories, and insights of Sharney, Miss Truscott, as a teacher, colleague and friend.

Teacher effectiveness is a multifaceted concept, which sits at the heart of successful educational programs. A balanced approach to evaluating and analysing teacher effectiveness must incorporate recognition and discussion of hard teacher skills such as curriculum planning and procedural professionalism, and soft teacher skills such as the capacity to build rapport with students, deliver content and instruct in engaging ways, which are all essential to effective teaching.

The introspection from living under lockdown to prevent the spread of a pandemic is captured in a new creative writing anthology by students at Avondale. Love in the Time of Corona: Notes from a Pandemic reflects thoughts on distance, isolation, connection and imagination.

The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown many schools around the country into turbulent waters and forced a transition to virtual learning.

This short article discusses how to handle the wellbeing of adolescents in the 21st century given the extent to which modern life is actually arranged to facilitate human floursihing.

Articles written by Avondale academics for the new Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists (ESDA) will significantly increase the university college's institutional research profile this year. The publication record addition is largely thanks to regional editor and conjoint associate professor Dr Barry Oliver, who ensured the peer-reviewed articles qualified for reporting as part of Avondale University's Research Data Collection.

Brueggemann's text is substantial. A skim through on Kindle suggested it was heavily theological - not an easy to read practical guide to Christian teaching.

This research investigated the 'use-by-date' of Delphi study outcomes - an area overlooked in Delphi literature. The findings signposted the continuing relevance and importance of high priority goals (HPGs) formulated for an educational institution more than two decades ago. Excellence and service featured as foremost values, among others, embedded in or associated with HPGs. The results of the study point to the long-term durability of value-laden goals in Delphi studies; particularly as goals relate to a prevailing worldview.

This article aims to contribute to the literature on school leadership identification. It adopts an Australian faith-based education system case study to explore classroom teacher and school-based administrator perceptions of both current and future school leadership identification practices. This research utilised a qualitative research design, adopting semi-structured interviews to collect employee perceptions. The respondents identify six areas of importance for school leadership identification. These include:1) defining what constitutes excellence at the classroom, school, and system levels of leadership; 2) formalising school leadership identification processes; 3) conversing with early career teachers around school leadership aspirations; 4) improving processes to communicate interest in school leadership roles; 5) heightened levels of communication between school principals and system administrators regarding high potential teacher leaders; and 6) providing school-based opportunities for school leadership development.

Vegan Living is a visually appealing recent publication with creative colour graphics, engaging thought bubbles, and cameo statements that stimulate and maintain interest. With extensive factual text including recipes and guides it forms a simple but vibrant explanation, based on compassion on conviction, advocating a personally chosen, adapted and adopted vegan lifestyle.

This editorial discusses the climate change crisis and how recognition of the climate change crisis has forced the issue to transform from a political, ideological disruptor to a socially discussed opportunity for making a personal difference for the future.

Despite the prevalence of Christian worldview language in Christian schooling, there is little research into how worldview is understood and practiced.

This paper is based on teachers’ perceptions of Christian worldview. Specifically, it sought to understand how teachers integrate faith and learning utilising a Christian worldview, how they assess student understanding of Christian worldview, the barriers they face, and how they believe schools can better support the practice of worldview integration.

This study found that despite evidence of worldview integration, few teachers were assessing the extent to which students understood a Christian worldview. Respondents suggested schools could better support worldview integration through exemplars of practice, more opportunities to share and learn from each, and professional learning that supports biblical literacy.

This article explores innovative peer-assessment strategies to create and support lifelong learners. It proposes that the confirmation panel—a formal progression requirement of a postgraduate degree—can effectively facilitate feedback, function as an assessment tool, and meaningfully induct both secondary and undergraduate tertiary students into a community of practice. The confirmation panel offers immediacy and richness of feedback, promotion of accountability, empathy, confidence, content knowledge, and—importantly—the transfer of tacit knowledge specific to a community of practice. Other positive results include: building and (re)structuring metacognitive frameworks, facilitation of self-reflection, and the forming of a creative, collegial environment where standards are clarified and learning is scaffolded.