Volume 9 Issue 2

The Christian text is quick to introduce the imperative to build close relationships. At the commencement of human history God declares that it is not good for a person to be alone (Gen 2:18 NIV). Loneliness was clearly not a part of God’s original plan for human existence.

This review considers literature on the self-care of children with type 1 diabetes and applies it to the primary school classroom. It reports that by allowing children to have self-care with their health at an early age, they develop a healthy foundation for lifelong health. This review found that children with type 1 diabetes are able to provide self-care when they develop the cognitive skills to understand how to control their condition, along with social and emotional development to be able to cope within the social environment. It is shown that when care-givers and children monitor the condition closely, better control is achieved resulting in less long-term health problems.

High levels of arousal and anxiety can affect an individual’s ability to process information and learn new skills. The present study used a high platform lunge task to examine the effect of task repetition on state anxiety and how an individual’s ability to process visual and auditory information is affected by arousal level. Twenty-six females (21.8 ± 2.8 yrs) performed six lunges from a six-meter platform to a suspended trapeze. Measures of state anxiety were recorded during the 5-minute rest period between each attempt. During the 10-second countdown to jump, the subjects were exposed to five visual and five auditory pieces of information that they were asked to recall 60 seconds after the lunge. The results indicated that individuals’ response to repeating an anxiety-evoking task is highly variable. When performing skills that induce anxiety, optimal information processing appears to occur in the third or forth attempt, as high levels of anxiety occur in earlier attempts and complacency can occur with further attempts. Visual cues are processed more readily than auditory cues at all levels of arousal, highlighting the importance of the inclusion of visual instructional strategies. The findings are informative for understanding best practice when teaching and learning skills that evoke anxiety.

Internationalisation of the curriculum is a key research area at the intersection of teaching and learning. Increasing numbers of international students in Australian schools and tertiary institutions necessitate the reconceptualisation of curriculum to incorporate global perspectives and develop intercultural competencies of both students and teachers. Accordingly, this research project identified key discipline areas at Avondale College of Higher Education in which to perform pedagogical intervention with an internationalisation focus. Three lecturers undertook action research in the areas of Primary Education, Business and Theology, resulting in the production of culturallyinformed perspectives, increased cross-cultural awareness and the identification of areas for future research and innovation.

Is it possible for an in-school soup kitchen to provide a vehicle for practical Christianity, lessons in prayer and a changing school culture?

Conflict significantly disrupts achievement within classrooms. It effects individuals but also influences group members and potentially a wider community. Minimizing conflict optimizes opportunity and this is the goal of sharing these insights.

The three lectures were entitled: Is Christianity a Religion?, The Invention of Modern Science and Exploring the Territories of Science and Religion. This lecture series explored new ways of thinking of both Christianity and science that emerge from the manner in which both entities have changed and developed over the last two millennia. It was proposed that an accurate perception of their contemporary interaction is predicated on an understanding of the nuances of this evolutionary, historical process.

Educational systems are experiencing a global leadership crisis. The literature around school leadership paints a clear picture: school leaders are an ageing population and there is a lack of willingness from classroom teachers to take on school leadership roles. Anecdotal evidence would suggest this is also the case within Adventist Schools Australia (ASA), however, there is a lack of research that has explored the leadership intentions of current employees within this education system. Through a review of school leadership literature, and ASA employee survey responses on the topic of school leadership, this study explores the views of these respondents to taking on school leadership positions, including the influences on their decision to further explore school leadership roles.