The major aim of this study was to examine the relationship between teachers' curriculum preferences in the primary school and the relative value they place on PE compared to other key learning areas (KLAs) of the primary curriculum. Data were collected from 422 pre-service and 63 in-service classroom teachers. Results suggested that most…

This article presents an Australian case study of the experiences of curriculum workers involved in professional development for primary school teachers in the New Social Studies and their perceptions of the curricular and pedagogical challenges facing those teachers in the 1970s and 1980s. It draws on data gathered primarily through "oral…

The inservice education of teachers in Queensland, Australia, is the primary focus of this paper. Policies and the influences on their development are examined before the extent of present inservice practices are summarized and attention is given to the problems of implementing inservice teacher training. (IRT)

Over the last decade, Papua New Guinea (PNG) has pursued educational reform in elementary teacher education. Because elementary teachers and teacher education are central to the reform agenda, there is a need to gain empirical evidence about how PNG teacher trainers' understandings about learning and teaching impact on their practice. The study…

Examines problem solving in mathematics teaching, giving consideration to various models of the problem-solving process and concentrating on strategies inherent and implied in the models. The notions of vehicles, operations, and levels of thinking are introduced and a teacher development project concerned with considering perspectives of…

Reports on a 4-year longitudinal case study of two Australian primary science teachers during transition from preservice to inservice teaching. Interprets teachers' change and professional growth as instances of sub-cultural border crossing and the role in their construction of the borders crossed by beginning teachers. Proposes ways of assisting…

Findings from a study of 273 Australian teachers provide strong support for a functional relationship between professional development and dimensions (energy, enthusiasm, satisfaction) of teachers' professional self-perception. (IAH)

This paper describes a joint venture between the Queensland Primary Education Division and the Department of Education at the University of Queensland that has attempted to improve teacher inservice education through the use of participative decision-making processes. First stage of the program involved the collection of data from a representative…

The Classroom Practices Survey was conducted with 606 teachers of grades 3 and 4 in government, Catholic, and independent schools in New South Wales (Australia). Results indicated that teachers made only minor modifications in the regular curriculum for gifted students. Among recommendations are increased training for teachers in gifted education…

Evaluates the Early Literacy Inservice Course (ELIC) supported by the Australian Basic Learning in Primary Schools (BLIPS) program. Assesses ELIC and identifies a number of general issues about literacy programs. Focuses on improving standards of literacy and teacher quality through inservice activities. (KO)

Whole language approaches to the teaching of reading and writing have received broad support by United States advocates of "critical pedagogy." This paper outlines a case study of the Australian implementation of whole language inservice courses for the teaching of literacy in elementary schools. Drawing from post-structuralist theory…

A review of the research indicates that the interface between the findings from research on teaching and staff development of teachers is an important but neglected one. An improvement in teaching skills calls for an interactive or collaborative mode of professional development which is based on classroom interests and the needs of teachers, with…

The observational data from a project which was designed to implement and monitor the effects of an inservice program in facilitating a non-sexist approach to the teaching of science in Australian primary schools are reported in this paper. Descriptions and analyses are provided both of the children's participation in activity-centered lessons on…

This paper describes a teacher education effort that developed conditions for teachers to be more effective learners about teaching and encouraged teachers' development of a personal understanding of educational issues. A group of teachers in one school established the Project To Enhance Effective Learning (PEEL) as an approach to encourage more…

This document is an English-language abstract (approximately 1,500 words) of a survey of music in Australian schools. The survey included all types of schools, and includes facilities and equipment for musical education, and the use made of them. The courses of study, organization of musical activities, finance, supervision, teacher training, and…