The High Level Seminar on Educational Achievement in Asia and the Pacific was organized in collaboration with the UNESCO Regional Office for Education in Asia and the Pacific (Bangkok, Thailand). The objectives were to exchange information and experiences on educational assessment at the primary and secondary school levels; to review major…

Innovation, from high profile scientific discoveries to lower profile changes in processes or practices, is crucial to Australia's economic development. However, its impact on the wider community is usually relatively small. Promotion of innovation across all sectors is required to produce the biggest changes. This report focuses on the roles of…

Australian education and training and vocational education and training (VET) research are in a state of crisis. Both the higher education and VET sectors are now squeezed and subject to contradictory objectives, multiple accountabilities, heightened expectations, and diminished resources in an environment of uncertainty and frustration. The…

After looking at reasons why research on teaching has had limited impact, this paper suggests alternative ways to generate and use research to achieve more productivity and indicates implications for educational practice. The author contends that the Research, Development, and Dissemination model of educational change, with its implicit view of…

This report from the Australian Council for Educational Research details the council's activities from July 1, 1979 to June 30, 1980. In the introduction, the council's director comments on the various activities, including educational and psychological measurement, curriculum research and development, studies of the social foundations of…

The most significant forces to influence service delivery in integration of individuals with intellectual disabilities in Australia have been social movements, cultural phenomena, and political and economic forces rather than scientific research. A greater emphasis on how research can be translated into effective policy and practice is encouraged.…

This report describes the activities of the Rural Education Research and Development Centre at James Cook University (Queensland, Australia). The center is responsible for implementing research into rural education, training teachers to work in rural areas, and implementing projects related to rural education. The center is an academic unit…

This annotated bibliography summarizes 70 studies of curriculum implementation, with emphasis on studies of curriculum projects in Australia. Most of the studies reviewed involve data gathering using the Stages of Concern questionnaire and the Levels of Use interview techniques developed by Gene Hall and his colleagues in the 1970s. The studies…

The National Centre for Research on Rural Education (NCRRE), located at the University of Western Australia, was established in November 1980, to undertake research on educational problems in rural Australia, which include isolation, cultural heterogeneity and underdevelopment, insufficient resources, technical inadequacies, and economic…

Provides an overview of Australia's National Schools Network (NSN), a commonwealth-state collaborative network providing support to over 200 schools (K-12) that are rethinking their work organizations and teaching and learning practices. A key component of the NSN is the linkage of teacher professional development with systemic research that…

Australia's Cooperative Research Centres Program, a system of 52 research and development (R&D) units, links researchers from public and private sectors, helping industry and scientific community coordinate research efforts. The program represents 6% of the national R&D effort and spans six major R&D and industry sectors. (MSE)

In its first 18 months of operation the Centre has undertaken research on major issues and problems in rural education. Its publications have been received favorably, both in Australia and overseas. Visiting scholars from Alaska and Canada have made valuable contributions to the Centre's activities and have increased its links with agencies…

An inquiry concerning the future of Murdoch University, Western Australia, is considered, as are the resulting recommendations. After a description of the university's establishment, growth, and present circumstances, postsecondary education in Western Australia and the demand for higher education are considered. A number of adjustments to the…

Australia's innovation capacity is, in part, reliant on its teaching workforce--to teach and promote new technologies to industry. This pilot study examines how vocational education and training (VET) teachers, in particular TAFE (technical and further education) teachers, maintain the currency of their skills and knowledge base. It also explores…

The history of direct government funding of research in Australia's higher education institutions is chronicled, focusing on the evolution of research policy and emphasis on excellence. The establishment of the Australian Research Council and its statement of specific mission and priorities is also detailed. (MSE)