Abstract
Australian students’ performance on national and international literacy assessments has declined since 2000, while teachers in contemporary classrooms contend with conditions of increased complexity and uncertainty. In July 2017, the Australian Government commissioned a panel of experts to provide advice on how to improve Australian students’ achievement and school performance. The panel concluded that Australian schools must support every student to realise their full learning potential through an increased emphasis on personalised student learning and collaborative teacher practices. This paper outlines a case study of complexities and influences in enabling and constraining a local curriculum innovation in literacy that sought to personalise learning and promote teacher collaboration in conditions of constant change and disruption. Named Literacy Toolbox, this initiative was developed by Year 7 and 8 literacy leaders at a Tasmanian secondary school to increase student agency and enhance teaching around a model of deprivatised or shared practice. The findings provide insight for education researchers and schools regarding the challenges and opportunities of attempts to enact personalised learning and co-teaching in the current context.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andrich, D. (2009). Review of the curriculum framework for curriculum, assessment and reporting purposes in Western Australian schools, with particular reference to years kindergarten to year 10. Retrieved from http://www.curriculum.wa.edu.au/internet/Publications/Reports/General_Reports.
Archer, A. L., & Hughes, C. A. (2010). Explicit instruction: Effective and efficient teaching. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2017). NAPLAN achievement in reading, writing, language conventions and numeracy: National report for 2017. Sydney, NSW: ACARA.
Bear, D. R., Invernizzi, M., Templeton, S., & Johnston, F. R. (2016). Words their way (6th ed.). Sydney, NSW: Pearson.
Biesta, G., & Osberg, D. C. (2010). Complexity, education, and politics: From the inside-out and outside-in: An introduction. In D. C. Osberg & G. Biesta (Eds.), Complexity theory and the politics of education (pp. 1–5). Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers.
Buysse, V., Sparkman, K., & Wesley, P. (2003). Communities of practice: Connecting what we know with what we do. Council for Exceptional Children, 69, 263–277.
Clarke, A. (2005). Situational analysis: Grounded theory after the postmodern turn. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Commonwealth of Australia. (2018). Through growth to achievement: The report of the review to achieve educational excellence in Australian schools. Retrieved from https://www.appa.asn.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/20180430-Through-Growth-to-Achievement_Text.pdf.
Cope, B., & Kalantzis, M. (Eds.). (2000). Multiliteracies: Literacy learning and the design of social futures. London: Routledge.
Department of Education, Tasmania. (2016). Good teaching literacy 3–6. Retrieved from https://www.education.tas.gov.au/students/school-and-colleges/curriculum/good-teaching-guides/.
Dilkes, J., Cunningham, C., & Gray, J. (2014). The new Australian curriculum, teachers and change fatigue. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 39(11), 45–64.
Duckworth, K., Akerman, R., MacGregor, A., Salter, E., & Vorhaus, J. (2009). Self regulated learning: A literature review. London: Centre for Research on the Wider Benefits of Learning.
Elmore, R. F. (1996). Getting to scale with good educational practice. Harvard Educational Review, 66(1), 1–26.
Fawcett, M., & Watson, D. (2016). Learning through child observation (3rd ed.). London: Jessica Kingsley Publishing.
Friend, M., & Cook, L. (2010). Interactions: Collaboration skills for school professionals (6th ed.). Columbus, OH: Merrill.
Fullan, M. (2007). The new meaning of educational change (4th ed.). New York: Teachers College Press.
Hargreaves, D. (2005). Personalising learning: Curriculum advice. London: Specialist Schools Trust.
Hattie, J. A. C. (2015). Can Australian education become self-transforming? Australian Education Leader, 37(1), 8–12.
Hayes, D., Hattam, R., Comber, B., Kerkham, L., Lupton, R., & Thomson, P. (2017). Literacy, leading and learning: Beyond pedagogies of poverty. London: Routledge.
Hunter, M. A., Aprill, A., Hill, A., & Emery, S. (2018). Education, arts and sustainability: Emerging practice for a changing world. Singapore: Springer.
Jensen, B. (2014). Making time for great teaching. Grattan Institute. Retrieved from https://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/808-making-time-for-great-teaching.pdf.
Jensen, B., Sonnemann, J., Roberts-Hull, K., & Hunter, A. (2016). Beyond PD: Teacher professional learning in high-performing systems. Retrieved from http://www.ncee.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/BeyondPDWeb.pdf.
Jones, M. G., Gardner, G. E., Robertson, L., & Robert, S. (2013). Science professional learning communities: Beyond a singular view of teacher professional development. International Journal of Science Education, 35, 1756–1774. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2013.791957.
Leadbetter, C. (2005). The shape of things to come: Personalised learning through collaboration. London: DfES.
Little, J. W. (2003). Inside teacher community: Representations of classroom practice. Teachers College Record, 105(6), 913–945.
Lo Bianco, J., & Freebody, P. (2001). Australian literacies: Informing national policy on literacy education (2nd ed.). Melbourne, Victoria: Language Australia Ltd.
Love, K., Macken-Horarik, M., & Horarik, S. (2015). Language knowledge and its application: A snapshot of Australian teachers’ views. Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, 38(3), 171–182.
Mackey, J., O’Reilly, N., Jansen, C., & Fletcher, J. (2017). Leading change to co-teaching in primary schools: A “Down Under” experience. Educational Review, 70(3), 1–21.
Moje, E. B. (2007). Developing socially just subject-matter instruction: A review of the literature on disciplinary literacy. In N. L. Parker (Ed.), Review of research in education (pp. 1–44). Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.
Opfer, V. D., & Pedder, D. (2011). Conceptualizing teacher professional learning. Review of Educational Research, 81, 376–407.
Paludan, J. P. (2006). Personalised learning 2025. In Schooling for tomorrow: Personalising education. Paris, France: OECD Publishing.
Prain, V., Blake, D., Deed, C., Edwards, M., Emery, S., Farrelly, C., Fingland, D., Henriksen, J., Lovejoy, V., Meyers, N., Mooney, A., Muir, T., Sbaglia, R., Swabey, K., Thomas, D. P., Tytler, R., Zitzlaff, T. (2018). Developing a framework for teacher support in personalising student learning of prescribed curricula. British Educational Research Journal. https://doi.org/10.1002/berg.3481.
Prain, V., Cox, P., Deed, C., Dorman, J., Edwards, D., Farrelly, C., et al. (2014). Adapting to teaching and learning in open-plan schools. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
Prain, V., Cox, P., Deed, C., Edwards, D., Farrelly, C., Keeffe, M., et al. (2015). Personalising learning in open-plan schools. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
Prain, V., & Tytler, R. (2017). Simplistic advice for teachers on how to teach won’t work. Science Education News, 66(4), 47–48.
Schildkamp, K., & Kuiper, W. (2010). Data-informed curriculum reform: Which data, what purposes, and promoting and hindering factors. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(3), 482–496.
Sebba, J., Brown, N., Steward, S., Galton, M., James, M., Celetano, N., & Doddy, P. (2007). An investigation of personalised learning approaches used by schools. Research Report RR843. Annesley, NG: DfES.
Slee, R. (2014). Evolving theories of student disengagement: a new job for Durkheim’s children? Oxford Review of Education, 40(4), 446–465.
Snyder, I. (2008). The literacy wars: Why teaching children to read and write is a battleground in Australia. Crows Nest, New South Wales: Allen & Unwin.
Stockard, J. (2010). Promoting reading achievement and countering the “fourth-grade slump”: The impact of direct instruction on reading achievement in fifth grade. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 15(3), 218–240.
Thomas, D. P. (2017). Using SFL to personalise learning in early childhood classrooms. In P. Chappell & J. S. Knox (Eds.), Papers from the 44 th International Systemic Functional Congress (pp. 67–74). Wollongong, New South Wales: The Organising Committee of the 44th International Systemic Functional Congress, Wollongong.
Thomas, D. P. (2018). Embracing change when writing for change: My PhD Journey. In D. Kember & M. Corbett (Eds.), Structuring the thesis: Matching method, paradigm, theories and findings (pp. 207–216). Singapore: Springer.
Thompson, S. C., Gregg, L., & Niska, J. M. (2004). Professional learning communities, leadership, and student learning. Research in Middle Level Education Online, 28(1), 1–15.
Thomson, S., De Bortoli, L., & Underwood, C. (2017). PISA 2015: Reporting Australia’s results. Melbourne, VIC: ACER.
Timperley, H. (2011). Realizing the power of professional learning. Berkshire, UK: McGraw-Hill Education.
Topfer, C., & Arendt, D. (2010). Guiding thinking for effective spelling. Carlton South, Victoria: Cengage.
Tuinamuana, K. (2011). Teacher Professional Standards, accountability and ideology: Alternative discourses. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 36(12), 72–82.
Vangrieken, K., Meredith, C., Packer, T., & Kyndt, E. (2017). Teacher communities as a context for professional development: A systematic review. Teaching and Teacher Education, 61, 47–59.
Vescio, V., Ross, D., & Adams, A. (2008). A review of research on the impact of professional learning communities on teaching practice and student learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(1), 80–91.
Acknowledgements
This paper is an output of the Australian Research Council Grant “Improving Regional Low SES Students’ Learning and Wellbeing” [LP150100558, Prain, Waldrip, Tytler, Deed, Meyers, Blake, Muir, Farrelly, Mooney, Thomas, Swabey, with collaborator Anglicare Tasmania].
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Thomas, D.P., Emery, S., Prain, V. et al. Influences on local curriculum innovation in times of change: a literacy case study. Aust. Educ. Res. 46, 469–487 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-018-0295-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-018-0295-6