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2017 (10) 1 May 2017
ET News Digest
Your Weekly Education Newsletter
What is Groupthink? Beware the dangers of consensus decision making – Dennis Sleigh We know a lot about American President John F Kennedy but do we know about his greatest error and his greatest success: the Bay of Pigs fiasco and the Cuban Missile Crisis? The former, which occurred in the early stages of Kennedy’s presidency (April 1961), has been described as the “worst decision he had ever made” (MT Hansen, 2013) and the latter, only 18 months later, as “one of the most definitive moments of the 20th century” (The Conversation 16 October 2012). How did the disaster differ from the triumph? The answer: decision-making. Read More Schools not dressing girls for success School uniform codes that force female students to wear dresses and skirts are discriminatory and are affecting girls’ health and wellbeing according to Girls’ Uniform Agenda, an organisation launched in March to drive equality in school uniform dress codes. The group is campaigning for legislative and policy change on girls’ uniforms to support those seeking uniform policy changes. Read More    High test results in Asian schools, but at what cost Singapore, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, China and Taiwan regularly get the highest scores on international tests for education. Other countries, including Australia, seek to emulate these results. A key factor behind the success of these countries is the cultural emphasis on studying at the expense of other activities outside school. This brings costs in terms of student well-being and health. Read More  Telepresence robots destined for the classroom With distance (online) education becoming more desired by students, USQ Head of School (Teacher Education and Early Childhood) Prof Stephen Winn said it was only a matter of time before technologies such as telepresence robots are integrated into classrooms to solve challenges in online engagement. Read More  Applications for NSW 2017 Eco Schools Grants open
Educators and school communities are once again encouraged to apply for an Eco Schools Grant to encourage their students to learn about the environment. Eighty grants of $3,500 each are now available under the NSW Environmental Trust Eco Schools Grants program. Read More  New research: girls better readers than boys in lower income areas Girls from low and middle socio-economic backgrounds are better at reading than boys, while boys from high-socio-economic backgrounds are better at mathematics than girls, according to new research from the University of Melbourne and the University of Sydney. In their article, Gender gaps in early educational achievement, published in the Journal of Population Economics, Read More Independent review of NT school funding model Ernst & Young has been selected to conduct an independent review of the Territory Government’s school funding model. Minister for Education Eva Lawler said the review will consider the way school budgets are calculated, including the use of effective student enrolment data and weightings to address student needs. Read More |
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