This study is concerned with school-based staff development. It looks briefly at the reasons for this development, emanating from changes in society and schools. First it traces the growth of school-based staff development overseas and in Australia. A variety of approaches to school-based staff development activities is demonstrated by a selection of case studies in the United Kingdom, United States and Australia. The study then examines staff development provisions in the ACT education system, a system based on the philosophy of participatory decision making. It then looks closely, by means of description and questionnaire, at staff development in a particular school in this system, Duffy Primary School. The study concludes with recommendations and a model for staff development in schools. The writer implemented a school-based model of staff development at Duffy Primary School independent of other current theories and practices on school-based staff development. His most recent reading and research outlined in this study have confirmed the basic soundness of the school-based model of staff development.

This study focuses on the writing of senior students in the subject English at an ACT secondary college. Several features of the ACT education system are relevant. There is a high retention rate, so the sample is a broad one. The curriculum is school based, as is assessment. There are separate courses for those seeking tertiary entrance (TE) and those seeking to complete their education at Year 12 (Accredited). The theoretical basis of the study is provided by the work of a number of linguists with an interest in school language, in particular Graham Little. 255 samples of writing have been analysed, taking account of the function and forms of language. The function, or meaning, has been analysed in terms of content, abstraction, purpose and audience. The writing in the Accredited course is evenly distributed between the human and material worlds, three quarters is informational and one quarter Imaginative. The level of abstraction shows a predominance of reporting and generalising. Writing in the TE course is 60% concerned with the human world and reaches higher levels of abstraction such as speculation and hypothesising. The audience is academic. Compared with earlier findings, this study shows more human content and higher levels of abstraction. Language functions through selective use of forms. The aspects of form analysed are vocabulary, abstraction of noun phrase, sentence length and sentence sequencing. Figures produced were largely consistent with earlier studies; however the TE group shows higher syllable counts, greater abstraction of noun phrase and longer sentences than the Accredited group. Creative writing brings the groups closest together. Handwriting, spelling and punctuation are examined. Handwriting is always legible, spelling close to 98% correct and 84% of full stops are correctly used. A small number of scripts produce most of the errors in both spelling and punctuation. The achievement of students as revealed by this study of writing is consistent with earlier studies although the students represented here demonstrate higher levels of abstraction. The curriculum contains more human content and is commendably comprehensive, although there is less poetic and expressive writing than might be expected. This form of language analysis is recommended for its concentration on the language actually produced in class, the insights it provides for teachers and the information it provides for meaningful public discussion of education.

Questionnaires were administered to 118 Secondary College students in the A.C.T. to obtain quantitative data about the students' self perception, about their friendship groups, their relationships with the other members of their family, their attitudes to their education and their employment experiences and expectations. The data also identified away from home students and at home students. The data obtained from these two student groups was analysed. The away from home group of students were then interviewed individually and qualitative data analysed for recurring themes and a profile of the away from home Year 12 student emerged. The away from home students in this A.C.T. study had been through periods of unstable accommodation, poverty, family distress, leaving school or changing schools and had made a conscious decision to complete their Year 12 Certificate to improve their employment opportunities. As a result of this study predictive indicators for an away from home student were generated. Following these findings an understanding of the specific issues and needs of away from home students can be encouraged among student welfare groups, parents and other educational/ welfare bodies. This in turn should assist the student achieve his or her educational outcomes and academic success.

This survey study examines the type and frequency of books borrowed by students according to age, sex and reading ability. It seeks to redress the sparsity of information available on the types and style of books borrowed by children. This survey study is based on data gathered over 14 weeks at Wanniassa Hills Primary School. Weekly library borrowings were recorded for Years 2. 3/4 and 5/6. A sample of 90 children, 30 from each year level was selected and individual borrowings were coded for analysis according to the type of book borrowed. The SAS System was used to tabulate the data and conclusions were drawn from the results thus obtained. The survey study revealed that females borrow more books generally than males. A general pattern of book borrowing is evident. Females tend to progress more quickly man males through this pattern of borrowing. Males tend to prefer Non- Fiction books, progressing to Choose Your Own Adventure books and Fantasy Game books. Recommendations are based on these findings and other outcomes of the survey study. This survey study has implications for classroom practice, libraries, basic readers and further study.

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in Australia in structures which allow community participation in the governance of schools. The introduction of a new Education Authority in the Australian Capital Territory, beginning in 1974, brought with it a substantial commitment to such structures as school boards, a relatively new phenomenon in Australian school systems. However, there has been substantial experience of lay or community participation in governing bodies of post-secondary institutions in Australia. This study examines both the general experience of lay participation in such governing bodies and the specific experience of lay members of the governing bodies of three institutions in the Australian Capital Territory, the Australian National University, the Canberra College of Advanced Education and the Canberra College of Technical and Further Education. The principal collection of data was from structured interviews with lay or community members of the councils of these three institutions, designed to produce a picture of their attitudes towards participation in governance. It was found that lay members are most commonly "middleaged, middle-class, males", although women are more frequently found in college councils. Lay members believe that they are chosen because of their successful backgrounds, their administrative skills, and their ability to reflect general community values. They do not believe they are constrained in their participation by specific community interests. They act as independent critical, individuals. Some areas of difficulty were identified, particularly the problem of finding sufficient time to learn thoroughly the nature of complex institutions, and to participate on an equal footing with staff members of councils. It is asserted that the assumptions underlying lay participation remain broadly unquestioned, even at a time of significant change in the wide process of planning and control of post-secondary education. The relevance of this to the innovations in the A.C.T. school system is suggested.

This study set out to document and compare differences in career paths and career aspirations between women and men primary school teachers in the ACT. The study wished to confirm in the ACT, the kinds of differences between career patterns well documented elsewhere and to go beyond this to an exploration of why these differences persist and the implications of them. A questionnaire with factual items on teachers' career backgrounds and open-ended questions on teachers' attitudes was sent to a random sample of teachers in ACT government primary schools within the four cells made by the two dichotomous criteria of women and men, promoted and non-promoted. Data was tallied, categorized, and despite the small sample, statistically significant differences were found: Women take more and different kinds of leave; women teach the younger children but have greater teaching experience across the grades; in terms of intending to stay in their career, women have a greater commitment to teaching than men. Women are more negative towards promotion and express career ambition in professionally oriented terms, i.e. in terms of children and teaching. Men, particularly those promoted, express career ambitions in extrinsic, promotional terms. Women have high career satisfaction; promoted men are the most dissatisfied. In contrast with promoted men, non-promoted men come from metropolitan areas and have less extrinsic and more child-centred career aspirations. Teachers' attitudes to grades were studied: grades 5/6 were the most sought after for promotional purposes, had the highest status yet were considered to be relatively easy to teach. The early years had least value in promotional terms, lower status and were the most difficult to teach. The system needs to re-appraise definitions and assumptions about teachers' careers in general and women's role as a commited group of professional teachers. Teachers disinterested in conventional career ambitions, most of whom are women, are undervalued while decision-making is in the hands of non-practicioners in male-dominated heirarchical structures.

In recent years Australia has seen a national change in policy focus for the provision of early childhood services. The change has been from delivery of a discrete education model of sessional preschool to a diverse range of services to families. This policy focus is reflected in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). There has been a move from a discrete preschool provision by the Department of Education and Training to a more cohesive early childhood approach by Children's Services Branch within the expanded Department of Education and Training and Children's, Youth and Family Services Bureau. The purpose of the study is to investigate reasons for, and nature of, the shift in policy focus and the impact on preschool staff in the ACT. The review of literature reveals that implementation of a more cohesive provision of early childhood services in Australia has not been without difficulties. These difficulties are investigated. The research is undertaken at an ACT Government preschool site. At this site the sessional government preschool and a community long day care centre are located in a purpose built shared facility. The research traces the values and practices of preschool staff in the sessional government preschool as they work in the shared facility in the first year of operation. Action research is employed in the form of a single case study, and guided by principles of Problem Based Methodology to clarify the issues involved and develop strategies to address a positive way forward in the ACT. The reflective, qualitative research provides the government preschool staff and the researcher with opportunities to develop and implement strategies to address difficulties. These difficulties are discussed in the context of the review of literature. Drawing on conclusions and recommendations from the case study, the investigation provides management insight into a way forward for more cohesive provision of early childhood services in the ACT.

This study examined the ant communities of several grasslands of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and their relevance to the pink-tailed legless lizard, Aprasia parapulchella (Pygopodidae). A. parapulchella is a fossorial species that shares burrows with, and eats the brood of, several grassland ant species. Foraging ants were collected from sites by pitfall trapping throughout one calendar year and comparisons of ant communities made between seasons and sites of differing vegetation structure. Competition between ant species for artificial nest sites and the effects of temperature on selection of nest site selection were also studied. The role that ants play in the distribution of A. parapulchella was investigated by (i) comparing ant faunas from several sites throughout the geographic range of the lizard, including sites in New South Wales and Victoria, (ii) performing feeding preference experiments with A. parapulchella, and (iii) investigating the seasonal nature of brood production and nest establishment by ants in ACT grasslands. Major findings were used to make recommendations to assist in the management, including rehabilitation, of A. parapulchella grassland sites. Low insolation appears to significantly affect the ant species composition of grassland sites in the ACT relative to other Australian vegetation types. In the ACT grassland sites, large species of the Dominant Dolichoderinae functional group were absent, or present only in very low numbers. The communities were species-poor relative to other Australian studies with only 60 species being recorded across all sites studied, with no more than 21 species recorded at any site on any sampling occasion. Whilst ant species community structure was highly variable between seasons and sites, more than 95% of ants were from the three functional groups, Dominant Dolichoderinae, Generalized Myrmicinae and Opportunists. The communities were numerically dominated throughout the year by the ubiquitous species groups Iridomyrmex 'rufoniger' and Rhytidoponera 'metallica'. Almost all taxa increased in foraging abundance during summer months and Pheidole spp., Monomorium spp., Crematogaster sp. Paratrechina sp. and Notoncus ectalomoides were occasionally locally abundant. There were no significant relationships between ant and vegetation community structures, but Solenopsis sp. showed an alliance with sites that had a high abundance of Themeda australis (kangaroo grass), whilst Crematogaster sp. and Paratrechina sp. are potential bioindicators of disturbance from grazing or pasture improvement. Iridomyrmex 'rufoniger' were the numerically dominant foraging ants, making up 50% of all captures, but they held only 80% of their nest sites when faced with competition from other species. R. 'metallica' and Pheidole spp. on the other hand, gained 80% more nests than they lost to other taxa. I. 'rufoniger' and R. 'metallica' both preferred nest sites with warmer temperature regimes when given the choice, and this assisted them to tend brood throughout the year. All ant species in ACT grasslands had summer peaks in brood production. Most nests were inactive throughout the cooler months and nest founding was predominantly between September and November. The common species, Iridomyrmex spp., Paratrechina sp. and R. 'metallica' held winged reproductives in their nests from April and all ant taxa had released all alates by mid- November. Although there were differences in ant community structure throughout the range of A. parapulchella, the ubiquitous R. 'metallica' and I. 'rufoniger' were always abundant, whilst again, Dominant Dolichoderinae and associated subordinate taxa were absent or present only in relatively low numbers. The lizards consumed brood from all the common ant species in ACT grasslands and showed preference for consuming brood of, and living with, small Iridomyrmex spp. The range of the small Iridomyrmex spp. preferred by A. parapulchella extends far beyond that of the lizard. Its distribution is apparently not restricted by the range of its ant prey species. For rehabilitation of A. parapulchella sites in the ACT, it is recommended that a significant ground cover of native grasses is established to ensure the low abundance of large and territorial ants from the Dominant Dolichoderinae functional group. Along with a high abundance of shallow surface rocks, this will ensure the establishment of ant communities that are numerically dominated by small Iridomyrmex spp., which are preferred by A. parapulchella for homesite sharing and as a food source.

Over the past six years, a part-time withdrawal-from-mainstream-class enrichment program for gifted and talented children has been operating at the Holt Primary School in the Australian Capital Territory. In keeping with the neighbourhood school policy of the ACT Schools Authority, the program caters only for children within the school and has included those from grades three to six. Based on Renzulli's Enrichment Triad Model, the program has a thematic approach which provides opportunities for participants to pursue both group and individual research on topics of interest to them. Identified children remain in the program for as long as possible and some have continued for as long as three years when resources have been available. This Action Research Study by the Co-ordinator of the program describes the setting up, objectives, identification methods, resources and evaluation.

Since 1977 ten innovatory keyboard laboratories, which enable teachers to utilize group teaching methods in musical instrument instruction, have been set up in A.C.T. educational institutions. Reactions to this innovation have been varied, and its usefulness queried. However, there has been a lack of information and little evidence of systematic research in Australia on this topic, perhaps because there are very few areas outside the A.C.T. where keyboard laboratories are used in schools. The investigation reported here attempted to determine why the innovation spread so rapidly in the A.C.T., the uses to which it was being put, and the kinds of support mechanisms that were necessary to ensure its optimum use. An interview known as the Levels of Use Interview was selected as the main method of collecting data from teachers using keyboard laboratories, and by analysing these interviews in the context of the A.C.T. educational milieu it was possible to predict a future pattern of usage, and recommend appropriate action to be taken by administrators responsible for the organization of A.C.T. education. The findings of the study supported theories that innovations are adopted by members of social networks and that the size of the system and degree of administrative and financial support may positively affect the spread of an innovation. All teachers using keyboard laboratories were convinced of their value, although this perception varied according to factors such as promotional status and recency of teacher training. In addition, the LoU Interview was found to be a highly appropriate tool for a practising classroom teacher to use in an investigation of this kind.