Volume 3 Issue 1

Over the past decade, controversy over Design has centred on biological complexity and the origin and diversification of life. This is understandable, since molecular biology is advancing rapidly, and also because the most visible exponents of design have been those in the Intelligent Design (ID) movement, many of whom, like Michael Behe, are biologists. Interestingly, many high-profile Christians within the scientific community have rejected the ID package, but have strongly endorsed a more cautious design argument. Although certainly not insurmountable, these differing views present considerable challenges for Christian teachers attempting an honest, carefully nuanced discussion of the design implications of the biosphere. Another hot area which has significantly informed the modern Design argument is that of astrophysics and cosmology. There has been much less controversy among Christians participating in this discussion, largely because the ID movement has not focused on this data. This paper attempts to assist teachers by briefly articulating a form of the design argument which is generally accepted by thinking Christians and then by presenting some cosmological arguments within this framework. Some of these should be accessible to senior secondary Science students.

The educators of Reggio Emilia call the environment the “third teacher” because it “speaks to children about what they can do, how and where they can do it and how they can work together” (Paiman & Terrani, 1998, p.1). They see space as an “aquarium that mirrors the ideas, values, attitudes and cultures of the people who live in it” (Gandini, 1994, p.149). Curtis and Carter speak of the environment as providing the “bones of the curriculum” (2008, p.54). Bones because its function is to hold up or support the learning process. What is your third teacher saying? How are your bones functioning? This article seeks to suggest implications for practice arising from the beliefs, theories, position and vision statements of 21st century Australian early childhood and to support these implications with practical suggestions.

Limited research has been conducted into the teaching primary principalship in Australia, as the focus has tended to be on full time school principals. It has often been assumed that the principalship role in smaller primary schools is a ‘scaled down’ version of a full time primary principalship and that similar leadership and management challenges apply. There is limited recognition of the unique challenges of teaching primary principals who have the dual roles of school management and classroom teaching responsibilities in devolving school systems. A mixed method research design was developed to explore the current issues, challenges and concerns of teaching primary principals in three school systems in New South Wales. In-depth interviews with teaching primary principals informed the development of a Teaching Primary Principals Perception Survey (TPSPS) which was forwarded to Department of Education and Training, Catholic and Seventh-day Adventist teaching primary principals in New South Wales. This paper explores the issues challenges and concerns of teaching primary principals in New South Wales and provides recommendations to address challenges associated with the dual role of teaching and leading a small primary school.

Reciprocal teaching (RT) is a process involving four distinct activities (questioning, clarifying, summarising and predicting) employed in a student-led, team approach to develop reading comprehension skills among primary students. In this study a series of readings were prepared for a topic taught within the NSW key learning area of Human Society and its Environment (HSIE). The readings were used in a study comparing the effects of RT with those of a more traditional approach to reading. A mixedmethod procedure was employed with 25 Year Four students who were divided into two groups (control and experimental) balanced for age, sex and ability. Both groups were pre- and post-tested for their knowledge of information supplied within the readings. An analysis of variance of the results indicated no detriment to the use of the RT procedures in comparison to the effective traditional approach taken by the home-teacher. Further, exit interviews with, and journal entries of students from both groups suggested that while the students in the control group viewed reading as a decoding process, the students from the RT group had begun to internalise the questioning and clarifying strategies and viewed reading as a process of dealing with ideas (comprehension).

Over the past few years the news media has increasingly highlighted the problem of peer bullying in schools. Within school communities there is a considerable divergence of opinion as to how it should be viewed and what should be done to address it. Research in the area of bullying began to flourish following the pioneering work of Dan Olweus in the early 1970s and has sufficient depth to provide considerable direction to schools. In the last 20 years, a number of researchers in New Zealand and Australia have contributed substantially to the growing body of knowledge. This article takes a brief overview of the problem and examines a number of the associated myths about bullying, in the light of recent research.

A safe and supportive school environment is necessary for enhancing and nurturing students’ gifts, talents and abilities. Within the last ten years, however, there has been a dramatic increase in violent confrontations within school environments around the world. There is no doubt that the well-being of students is at risk. This article explores the antecedents and etiology of violence and describes psychoeducational intervention and prevention models that can be used to reduce or prevent it. It also focuses on the collaborative roles and functions of Christian educators in significantly reducing the incidence of violence through the implementation of self-enhancing, growthproducing, and character-building programs and activities for students.