In Pursuit of Justice: Education practice and research for change
The Western Australian Institute for Education Research (WAIER) invites individuals and groups wishing to attend our annual research Forum. The 2020 Forum will be an online Keynote Presentation and Panel Discussion.
Keynote Presentation
The Long Bow Between Educational Research and a More Equitable and Just Society
David Ansell, Telethon Kids Institute
There are a number of common assumptions that we hold. These are that:
- educational research will influence educational policy;
- evidence based educational policy will improve student outcomes;
- improved student outcomes will result in better life outcomes for children from low income families; and
- better life outcomes for children from low income families will result in a more equitable and just society.
David Ansell’s response to each of these assumptions is ‘sometimes’ or ‘maybe’. This presentation will look at educational research from the perspective of politicians, policymakers and life course researchers. It will provide insights into how decisions are made regarding educational policy and practice. It will make the case that doing the research is not enough, and that researchers should participate intelligently in the political and policy process if they want to contribute to a more equitable and just society.
Telethon Kids Institute
David has worked as a teacher, Principal, leader in the not-for-profit sector and senior public servant. A focus of his work has been addressing disadvantage through education, youth at risk, early childhood services and public sector management. David is currently employed by the Telethon Kids Institute as Co-Director of CoLab, established through a partnership between the Telethon Kids Institute and the Minderoo Foundation. CoLab’s mission is to bring together evidence with policy and practice to improve the development and learning of children.
Cost: FREE
Register to attend this year’s forum. Register by clicking this link to EventBrite
‘In My Blood It Runs…’ – The Film
Excerpt form the ‘In My Blood It Runs’ website : “A key goal in the In My Blood It Runs campaign is to make Australian schools more culturally safe for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. As guided by those onscreen and the Arrernte and Garrwa Elders and Advisors, we are employing a number of strategies to help affect this change.
Whether you’re teaching in-person or virtually, we’re here to support you!
The film is available for free to all schools in ‘Australia’ and New Zealand from 30 April – 3 June, and we’re particularly encouraging teachers to engage with it during Reconciliation Week 27 May – 3 June.
The technical details: we will create an online link specifically for your school. You can share this link with your students to watch from home according to your class schedule or assign it as their homework. Once they have watched it, you can then use our educational resources (available below) to design learning activities to go with the film.
Please note if your students have limited internet access or you need to use a specific platform to deliver content to your students we can work with you to find solutions.
Take your class on a ‘Virtual Excursion’ to watch the film and participate in a live online Q&A with the filmmakers and targeted moderators for each subject area. The education resources are pitched at Yrs 9 – 12 students, but the conversations are appropriate for high school students more generally.”
eSafety Online Professional Development
‘Keeping Kids Connected’
eSafety has teamed up with Early Childhood Australia to create a series of online professional learning modules especially for early childhood educators.
You can learn about and access all four modules for free of charge, through Early Childhood Australia’s Learning Hub.
