Asia Literacy and the Australian Teaching Workforce
Summary
The research project was conducted by Deakin University and pioneered by Professor Christine Halse. From the ‘Introduction’ section, there is the discussion of the background of the study, general overview and the overview of how the report was structured. Chapter two is about the literature review, which gives detailed information regarding any pre-existing studies that may have been conducted concerning the research topic in question. The ‘literature review’ provides a broad scope and coverage that pertains to literacy issues concerning the entire teaching workforce. The third section is ‘methodology’ that provides an overview of how data was collected, analyzed and interpreted. In this section, there is the discussion of the survey methods used in the data collection, including the development of the research instruments, survey instruments, the training process, and the data analysis process. Also, in the ‘methodology’ section, there is the explanation of the data, which was the primarily narrative both closed and open-ended questions were used in the study. The analysis of the narrative data is also well broken down in this section. There was also the use of the case studies in the data collection process. The fourth chapter of the research project is the presentation of the findings on the basis of the overall Asia Literacy, characteristics of the Asian teacher literacy, and the background of the Asian teacher literacy (Halse et al., 2013). Chapter five also focused on the key findings of all the above-mentioned factors, but its primary emphasis was on the school principals as opposed to chapter four, which concentrated mainly on the teachers. Chapter six focused on the analysis of the narratives, as filled out by the teachers and the principals. Chapter seven revisited the issue of case studies. The last section, chapter eight, summarized on the overall findings and gave recommendations as the optimal solutions to the issues found during the entire research process.
What it is about?
Education is an important element and hence many countries, all over the world, have put much emphasis on the education sector. Every child is entitled to education, and it is the responsibility of the parents, the governments, and any other stakeholder to ensure that every child goes through the school system. This case scenario is not an exception in Australia, and much research has been undertaken on the nature of the education sector in the country. The primary focus of this paper is to summarize on a study covering on an Asian Literacy Project.
This is a research project that aims at unraveling the brief background of the Asia Literacy project and the primary areas focused in the study include the following. Firstly, the study tried to determine the real significance of the Asian Literacy for the teaching workforce in Australia. Secondly, it attempted to identify the features of an actual Asian literate instructor alongside the school principals and compare this with the optimal required standards concerning the teaching profession. Thirdly, the study also tried to determine the prevailing number of the training staff that can deliver the Asia priority in the existing curriculum in the Asian continent and this was to be compared with the optimally required standards. Finally, this research also focused on the future requirements that school principals and other tutors/educators across all phases of growth should embrace to optimally deliver the already laid Asian priorities.
To arrive at the aforementioned aims and objectives, there was the condensation of the study so that it was guided by three main research questions as enumerated below. The first question was to determine the overall characteristics of a standard Australian teacher, who is considered literate. The second inquiry looked into the general characteristics of an Asian principal, who is considered literate. The final inquiry was unraveling the required resources and strategies prevalent for developing literate Asian staffs.
What was Included?
Like many other studies, several approaches and strategies were put in place to ensure that the analysis was done in the most appropriate manner. To achieve this objective, the research team introduced five key strategies, which included the following. There was the review of the literature, which looked into the professional values about any prior studies covering issues of quality leadership and teaching. The analysis was to guide the research team towards the identification of the driving focus inquiries regarding teaching and leadership in the Asian continent. The analysis also helped in the development of the collection and instrumentation of the data in the research project. There was also the aspect of the methodology whereby several surveys were conducted online. The first online survey comprised several Asian teachers to help to determine the literacy levels of the tutors in the Asian teaching workforce. The survey on this group aimed at the elicitation of information regarding the teaching resources, professional knowledge, and the different demographic information among other factors that were deemed relevant to concerns the teaching staff. The online survey also engaged the Asian school principals, and the main aim behind this was to obtain reliable information regarding the demographic information of the various participants, their leadership backgrounds, and skills among other attributes. It paramount noting that the survey used both the closed ended and open ended questions to allow the principals give their narratives regarding teaching and learning in the Asian continent.
Another approach used was the aspect of the case studies, which incorporated those teachers who were at their developmental stages. The case studies involved both public and private schools. Finally, there was the aspect of the discussion, whose delegation comprised of key stakeholders from the Asian education sector.
Who Is Involved?
As discussed in the previous sections, the study aimed at carrying out an in-depth analysis of the Asian education sector. To determine who was involved in the study, it will be significant to put some focus and emphasis on the research methodology approach that was applied in the research. As stated in the preceding sections, the methodology approach used involved the use of the survey method. The main purpose was to determine the literacy levels in teaching, learning, and leadership as regards the Asian schools. It, therefore, follows that the primary key stakeholders featured in the survey included both the teachers and the principals obtained from both the public and the private schools in Asia. However, the online surveys, for the teachers and the principals, were drafted separately so that the two groups could provide different data to respond to diverse issues concerning the above-mentioned tree issues on the Asian education sector. Some key stakeholders from the Asian Education Foundation (AEF) were also invited by the delegation of the study, and these stakeholders are the ones that monitored the entire survey. Several resource materials from different databases were also feature in the survey and some of these included materials from among others the AEF e-News, Asia EdNet, Asialink Group, AEF Web Portal, and other relevant materials from the AEF databases. Also, there were several professional associations that were contacted during the research study. These professional associations included among others the following; The Confucius Institute, Australian Curriculum Studies Association, Australian Professional Teachers’ Association, Australian Primary and Secondary Principals’ Association, National Asia Literacy Network, Australian Catholic Primary and Secondary Principals’ Association, and All Subjects Association. Others who may have contributed indirectly included the participants who may have contributed from the online surveys incorporating these two major conferences; South Australia Independent School Workshop and Chinese Language Teachers Federation (Halse et al., 2013). Many stakeholders in the education industry and other relevant sectors devoted their time and gave any pertinent information that led to the ultimate success of the study.
History
The history of the primary issue being covered in the study can be understood from the literature review. The study can be based on the several studies that have long been carried out since 1990s. Most of these studies focused on the teachers as the primary and pivotal supporters towards the development of the literacy in the Asian continent. Based on the literature review, it was established that tutors and educators are always subject to overwhelming on issues regarding innovations into the curriculum. However, they have always wondered whether they meet the required standards relevant in imparting the necessary knowledge and understanding into the new curriculums (Halse et al., 2013). The Asian Education Foundation (AEF) has also widely been featured in the study since it has been in the front line advocating for the Asian literacy. The study was carried out in the year 2013 by the Deakin University and pioneered by Professor Halse Christine. However, this was just a continuation of other studies that were previously conducted with regard to literacy in Asia. As stated above, these laid these studies established the foundation upon which other researchers could be developed, and this was one of them. In fact, the Asian education has been there over the years, and hence studies on such a sensitive sector cannot be attributed to 2013.
Draw Similarities/Connections with the Victorian Curriculum (AusVels)
There are several similarities and connections that can be derived from the case study and the Victorian Curriculum. To begin with, the study focused on the education sector, which is also a primary issue that the Victorian Curriculum tries to address. Secondly, the study focused on unveiling the features/characteristics surrounding the literacy at the primary school levels and also at the secondary school stages. It, therefore, follows that the study aimed at looking at the issues surrounding the entire schooling system, which has also been given superb importance within the scope of the Victorian Curriculum. The study also focused on several issues about the curriculum, which is also a prevalent issue that has been given much emphasis on the Victorian Curriculum. Also, the study focused on both the private and the public schools, both primary and secondary schools. The Victorian Minister of education handles both the primary and the secondary schools.
