The information in the Weekly Wrap is aggregated from other news sources to provide you with news that is relevant to the education sector across Australia and worldwide. Each paragraph is a summary of the subject matter covered in the particular news article. The information does not necessarily reflect the views of CompliSpace.

AUSTRALIA

Is initial teacher education up to scratch?

The Educator reports that Australian teachers are underprepared for the classroom compared to those in other countries, according to a recent global survey. The OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) asked teachers around the world how prepared they were after completing their teacher education degrees. And on almost every measure – including being prepared to teach specific subjects, teach mixed-ability classes, and manage the classroom – Australian teachers reported being less prepared than the OECD teacher average. Blaise Joseph – a research fellow in education at The Centre for Independent Studies – says the latest evidence indicates that new teachers aren’t adequately prepared to teach reading or manage student behaviour – aspects of teaching that “could hardly be classified as optional extras”. He points to other data that show almost one-in-ten teacher education students fail a basic literacy and numeracy test, which has prompted calls to raise the standard of new teacher intakes.

When does getting help on an assignment turn into cheating?

According to an article in The Conversation, students – whether at university or school – can get help from many places. But at which point does getting help cross the line into cheating? Sometimes it’s clear. If you use a spy camera or smartwatch in an exam, you’re clearly cheating. At other times the line is blurry. When it’s crossed, it constitutes academic misconduct. What about getting someone else to read a draft of your essay? What if they do more than proofread and they alter sections of an assignment? Getting someone to help with your assignment might seem harmless but it can hinder the learning process. The teacher needs to understand where the student is at with their learning, and too much help from others can get in the way. It is possible to deal with these issues in a constructive manner that help students learn and get the support they need. This can include providing training to students when they first enrol, offering support to assist students who may struggle, and when academic misconduct does occur, taking appropriate steps to ensure it does not happen again.

The push to ban “unfair” group punishment in schools

The Age reports that Simon Wood decided to take a stand against the use of collective punishment in schools after his eight-year-old daughter's class was repeatedly kept back at recess and lunch due to the poor behaviour of a few students. Infuriated by the unfairness of the situation, the Devonport father complained to the Tasmanian Education Department late last year. Tasmania's student behaviour guidelines were updated to state "class or group detentions are not a preferred classroom management practice at all Tasmanian government schools". Now Mr Wood is calling on other Australian states to follow Tasmania’s lead. In Victoria, there are no restrictions on the use of collective punishment in schools. Jonathon Sargeant, a senior lecturer in inclusive education and classroom management at the Australian Catholic University, said the practice unfairly penalised innocent students and could fuel bullying towards children who had misbehaved.

Collective punishment: fair or farce?

According to The Educator, there are growing calls for the practice of collective punishment in schools to be banned in all states and territories. The practice was put to a stop in Tasmania after a Devonport parent complained to the state’s education department. Dr Jonathon Sargeant, senior lecturer in inclusive education and classroom management at the Australian Catholic University (ACU), said mass punishment can actually do more damage than the actual intention. A spokesman for the NSW Department of Education said the practice of collective punishment "is not consistent with Department policy, nor is it in line with contemporary educational perspectives on managing or supporting student behaviour in a schooling context". A spokesman for Queensland's Education Department said, "The decision to use collective punishment for classes in Queensland state schools is at the professional judgment of the classroom teacher, relevant to the particular situation". A spokesperson for the Western Australian Education Department said "every public school has its own behaviour management policy and sets expectations about positive student behaviour".

Mobile phones are addictive like cocaine and must be banned in schools: Christensen

According to The Sydney Morning Herald, LNP (Liberal National Party of Queensland) members have rejected a push to ban Queensland children from taking mobile phones to school but one MP believes the devices are addictive like cocaine and have no place in schools. The issue was put to rank-and-file members at the LNP state convention but was voted down. The resolution called on a future LNP state government to ban students from having mobile phones in all primary and secondary schools. It comes after Labor Education Minister Grace Grace and opposition leader Deb Frecklington last month ruled out following the Victorian government's decision to ban mobile phones from classrooms. Federal member for Dawson George Christensen said mobile phones were highly-addictive and should be banned from schools. But state member for Kawana Jarrod Bleijie said things had changed since he had a Nokia at school back in 2000 and the decision should be left up to individual schools.

A mobile phone ban in schools will stigmatise students with disability: experts

According to an article in Education HQ, there are compelling reasons for schools to ban mobile phones in the classroom and early evidence indicates that there may be a positive impact. However, there are key equity considerations for students with a range of disabilities, issues that are too often missed in an ableist society. Invisible inclusion is when a child in a school who has challenges, is able to partake in activities without stigma and without having their diversity/difference highlighted. If we ban mobile technology yet grant “preferential” usage to such children, this will only serve to highlight their disability and single out these individuals, which can limit inclusion. Schools need to deal with the behavioural management issues that come with phones such as distraction, lack of focus, and misuse of mobiles, but disadvantaging the most vulnerable in our schools is not the solution to these problems.

NAIDOC Indigenous dance performance students “distressed” after being laughed off stage

The ABC News reports that the NSW Government is investigating after indigenous students claim they were laughed off stage at their western Sydney school while giving a NAIDOC dance performance. Eight Year 12 pupils at Chifley College Senior Campus in Mt Druitt were left in tears last week after their traditional performance was cut short. The Gadi Boorong group were halfway through their showcase in front of the entire school when they claim the music stopped and they were ushered off the stage. Students said the crowd laughed at them, claim they heard racist remarks and were given various excuses as to why their performance was shut down. The ABC has been told tensions over the dance were so high, a meeting was held between parents, the NSW Department of Education and the Anti-Discrimination Board NSW. A school student told the ABC a fellow student interrupted the dancers at the direction of a teacher who said the performance was over. "[They] walked out of the hall angry and upset at the teachers and us which was understandable because we accidentally interrupted them ... after the assembly I apologised to all of them," she said.

Increasing protections for children causing confusion in South Australia’s volunteering sector

According to The Advertiser, new laws increasing protections for children when they are exposed to adult volunteers are creating industry confusion. The Country Women’s Association has told parents it can no longer accept child volunteers at its popular Royal Adelaide Show Country Cafe in September because from this month all adult volunteers required new checks to work with under 18s. Industry peak body Volunteering SA will hold information days throughout this month to try to clear up confusion. Chief executive Evelyn O’Loughlin said mainly smaller organisations were struggling with the law changes. Before July 1 only paid adults working with children required the checks, but now volunteers need them as well. The changes, welcomed by the volunteering industry, were recommendations from state and federal royal commissions into child safety. The State Government last year made good on an election promise to allow volunteers to receive the $59 checks for free.

Student health: What Australia can learn from Nordic countries

According to The Educator, last year, the Active Healthy Kids Australia report card scored Australian kids a D-minus for their physical activity levels, ranking our nation 32 of 49 countries. The majority of research on student health suggests physical activity is not only positively associated with improved health and fitness but also learning outcomes – particularly in maths. Katja Siefken, a lecturer at the University of South Australia, associate professor Carol Maher who is NHMRC Career Development Fellow at the University of South Australia and associate professor Charlotte Pawlowski from the University of Southern Denmark recently discussed these benefits in an article published in The Conversation. The researchers pointed to Nordic countries, which enforce weekly minimums for physical education in schools. Denmark has a mandatory 60-90 minutes of physical education a week, and in Finland physical activity classes are also mandatory. The Norwegians provide an average two to three hours a week. The good news, they say, is that the Australian national curriculum is on the right track in many ways.

New training to help school chaplains tackle cyberbullying

According to The Educator, while most schools do a great job of ensuring that their students feel like they’re in a safe and respectful learning environment, the scourge of bullying often finds a way to derail this perception. Perhaps the most complex form of bullying is that which takes place online, as it can strike at any time and place. While research shows that 20 per cent experience cyber bullying, 65 per cent ignore it and just 38 per cent fight back. In a push to empower schools to take action on this issue, the Federal Government has announced a plan to train school chaplains to combat cyberbullying so that they can better identify and support students who may be the victims of online bullying. The mandatory training for chaplains is part of the government’s $247 million extension to the popular National School Chaplaincy Program. Federal Education Minister, Dan Tehan, said the free online training would improve the support that chaplains were already providing to students in 3,000 schools.

INTERNATIONAL

Sex offence teachers: five gone this year (New Zealand)

The Otago Daily Times reports that more than 20 teachers have had their registration cancelled after being convicted of sex offences in the last five years. And upward of 330 have had allegations of sexual misconduct made against them. This year alone, five teachers have been struck off and 82 have faced or are currently facing allegations. The Teaching Council of New Zealand revealed, under an Official Information Act request, that from 2015 to July this year, 23 teachers have had their registration cancelled as a result of a conviction for sex offending. It could not confirm how many of those offences were against children or young people in the teacher's care. National education spokeswoman Nikki Kaye said the figures were concerning. She called on education Minister Chris Hipkins to have a "transparent discussion'' about whether improvements were needed to the current vetting system.

Arkansas legislator says new Fort Smith Public School media rules are “disturbing” (United States)

Talk Business and Politics reports that the Arkansas Legislature passed a law this spring to protect student journalists. Act 912, signed by Governor Asa Hutchinson in the week of April 8, makes several incremental changes to the 1995 Student Publication Act. The law now covers all school-sponsored “media” instead of just “publications,” which allows for protection of blogs, social media postings, online only “newspapers” and videos, according to Rep Julie Mayberry, R-Hensley, lead sponsor. While the law, both before and after revision, states that school districts must have rules and regulations in the form of a written student media policy, Act 912 changed language to ensure changes recognised that “students may exercise their right of expression guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. The FSPS school board voted Monday (July 8) to approve student handbook changes in regard to student publications that would make the handbook align with policy changes approved by the board earlier this year. The new student publication policies state all publications supported financially by the school or published in conjunction with a class are considered school-sponsored publications and as such “do not provide a forum for public expression”.