What's newNational Conversation with PrincipalsThe 2013 National Conversation with Principals was held in Canberra on 6 and 7 March 2013. Delegates include over 140 school principals from across Australia, and representatives from principal associations, unions and parent associations discussed key topics at the forefront of the schools reform agenda, including: Leadership National Plan for School Improvement/School funding, School reform, Future directions and School and community. See statement from Australian Minister for School Education, Peter Garrett. NSW introduces reforms to improve teacher qualityNSW Premier, Barry O'Farrell, and Minister for Education, Adrian Piccoli, have launched Great Teaching, Inspired Learning, a detailed plan to lift the performance of the teaching profession in NSW that follows extensive consultation with parents, teachers, universities and other education experts. See also NSW Government statement on initial teacher education, article 7 March 2013 in The Sydney Morning Herald, and Curriculum Leadership's ongoing news coverage via Twitter. New chief executive for NSW Institute of TeachersNSW Minister for Education, Adrian Piccoli, has announced the appointment of Kate O'Donnell as chief executive for the NSW Institute of Teachers. She will take up the position at the beginning of April. Queensland Pedagogical Framework policyQueensland Pedagogical Framework policy and support materials is now available. Parent and community engagement framework, QueenslandQueensland's Parent and Community Engagement Framework identifies what schools can do to strengthen learning outcomes for students – through effective partnerships between principals, teachers, students, parents and the community. It sends a call for action to our schools to focus on parent and community engagement as a key part of supporting student learning. South Australia's Educaton Minister flags tougher screening for teachersSouth Australian teachers could be subjected to increased screening processes, according to an article in The Advertiser 1 March 2013. Call for teacher education programs to cover problem-solving strategiesA recent blog post by Dr Chwee Beng Lee calls for teacher education programs to provide more preparation in problem solving, in view of the 'increasing demands on beginning teachers as they face greater social expectations, the need to adapt to changes in curricula and pedagogies, and the pressure to develop technological competence and deal with greater diversity among students'. See post 12 February 2013 on the 21st Century Learning blog. Future of ethics classes in New South Wales 'in doubt'The future of ethics classes in NSW is 'in doubt' after being disallowed tax relief that is available to scripture classes in the state, according to an article in the Illarwarra Mercury 3 March 2013. Follow Curriculum Leadership journal on TwitterFor news updates between editions of the journal, follow Curriculum Leadership on Twitter. |