This study presents an evaluation of health education in schools in the Australian Capital Territory, listing as evidence the perceptions and experiences of students and teachers at three levels of schooling. There is a particular emphasis on the high school. First, a broad-based literature review was undertaken, in order to arrive at some theoretical principles for health education. For the evaluation itself a combination of methods has been used including student questionnaires, teacher interviews, group discussion, participant observation and analysis of documents. While the questionnaire was the major research tool, all sources are integrated in the final discussion in order to provide a broad picture of health education at the different school levels. Conclusions drawn from the review of literature include (i) that contemporary health education in the Western world is concerned with the quality of life and with the decisions, at both individual and community levels, which relate to lifestyle, and (ii) the inevitability of social change had led to the recognition in the United Kingdom, United States of America and Australia of the need for young people to develop strategies for coping with a changing environment. In Australian Capital Territory schools, health education has been recognised as carrying the responsibility for developing these strategies. A key theme emerging from the review and explored in the evaluation is that, if these goals are to be achieved, particular emphasis must be placed on the process of learning and on the social emotional environment as an integral part of that process. In order to explore this hypothesis information was collected on student and teacher perceptions of the above concepts of health education and how these differ in a range of schools. To this end six schools which Positively identified health education as part of their curriculum were used as case studies. As individual schools they were found to approach this in different ways and these different approaches build a broad picture of school health education in action. It was found however, that there were major difficulties in effectively incorporating contemporary health education in schools. These difficulties repeat those already identified in my review of health education in Australian schools in this century. A "reaction pattern" of "bandaid" response to social change is repeatedly incorporated into the traditional education curriculum of the time under the title of health education. In the present era, there can be identified a mismatch between the objectives of contemporary health education and the present educational paradigm. A major finding in this regard was the failure of the high school to match up either to needs of students or the ideals of health education. While the fulfilment of these ideals was shown to be possible given specific teacher qualities, it was also found to be inhibited by a range of environmental factors. Examples of these were found to be organisational barriers and staff and student pressure to conform to the established structure and to the established roles. The study highlights the frustrating position of the teacher who seeks, or is given, the task of implementing contemporary health education in presentday schools.

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This study explores the implementation of adult learning principles in information technology adult education and training in the Australian Capital Territory, Australia. A set of adult learning principles is examined and interpreted with reference to supporting and contradicting theorists. The development of these theories is also explored in order to determine the changes in perspectives since 1900. Five of Canberra's information technology adult education and training providers were analysed. Surveys were distributed to trainers and students of these providers. These surveys requested respondents to rate their perception of the extent to which each learning principle is adopted in their learning environment. Demographic information about respondents was also obtained. Responses were compared between trainers, students and different providers. Results illustrate that the rejection or non-rejection of many adult learning principles is highly correlated with this demographic information.

In this field study, Community Involvement in Schools - The Duffy Primary School Project, the writer has examined the picture at the Australian Capital Territory and national level in relation to community involvement with a view to the investigation of the efforts at Duffy Primary School in enlarging school/ community interaction. The study contains a detailed description of the innovatory arrangements made at Duffy School and an evaluation of same, based on a survey of parents. Some conclusions have been drawn in respect to: 1) changes in attitude and behaviour in the school and the community resulting from the Community Involvement Project, 2) the school's response to information gathered from the community, 3) the achievement of the aims of the project, 4) the future of the Community Involvement Project at Duffy School, and the study is related back to the national context in conclusion.

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This study attempts to trace the development of the Australian Capital Territory Secondary Principals' Council (SPC) from the midfifties to the late seventies. The dramatic change from the monolithic centralised New South Wales state education system to one of autonomous school-based decision making of the new ACT School Authority forms the background on which this study is developed. The changing fortunes of the SPC as a pressure group are followed from their prestigious days with the NSW school inspector to the depths of the conflicts of the early seventies when change towards autonomy was imminent. The Teachers' Federation, at this time, gained power at the expense of the SPC when the union demanded that it be the sole spokesman for ACT teachers. The multiplicity of problems confronting the SPC in the late sixties and early seventies resulted in the forming of the Preservation of Principals Society (POPS), which conducted certain activities to allow principals to get away from such pressures. The gradual gaining of acceptance, within this new task environment, by the SPC saw it become an expert unit within this participative model. SPC members are on many committees which function to improve the administration, the curricula, and other major facets of ACT education. Finally, this study culminates in the SPC formulating a set of goals to guide its operations in the future. Tentative recommendations for Council to consider form a conclusion. These are to: 1. convince the ACT Legislative Assembly that the SPC is an expert body which should be heeded when the Assembly assumes control of local education, and 2. act as a group to monitor the curricula of their schools to ensure that a relevant education is available for the next generation. Principals should initiate change for the future rather than react to the problems of the past.

Parents play a central role in their children's education and social development and therefore can be extremely influential in children's attitudes, decisions and behaviour towards drugs. Despite this, there has been limited research to date which explores the parents' perspective and their needs in the area of drug education. This thesis reports on research which surveyed 92 parents of secondary students (Years 7-10) across ten secondary schools in the Australian Capital Territory. Two follow up focus group sessions, involving fourteen parents of secondary students, were also conducted with self-nominated parents of these respondents. The issues explored in the research include parents' concerns and knowledge of young people and drug issues, and their needs for a drug education program aimed at parents. The results show that parents see their role in drug education as a central one and are concerned about drugs in relation to their children and other young people. They are largely unaware of school drug policies and school drug education programs and want to work in closer partnership with the school and community in educating their children about drug issues. Parents identified a need for accurate and up to date information as they do not have sufficient knowledge in this area. Parents also identified a need to develop skills in dealing with adolescents and drug issues. This study provides insight into a range of parents' views on drug issues and confirms that parents would like to develop both knowledge and skills in order to support young people and reinforce school drug education programs. A number of implications of the results for the involvement of parents in drug education programs are presented, including: parent needs, strategies for delivery/ implementation and motivating factors for encouraging parental participation in such programs.

The review of the literature, which constitutes the first two chapters of the study, traces the movement towards the development of an autonomous ACT education system and the development within that movement of a philosophy of devolution of decision-making to individual schools within the larger ACT system. In particular the Currie, Neal-Radford, Campbell and Hughes Reports have been drawn upon rather extensively to illustrate, not only the arguments being put forward for the adoption of a philosophy of school-based curriculum development, but also the rather strong proposals for extensive systemic support services for schools, especially in the early years of the new system. The second part of the literature survey discusses the possible problems associated with the implementation of school-based curriculum development. These problems are mostly associated with five interrelated elements within curriculum development; manpower, activity, materials, finance and time. Finally the literature review discusses feelings of discontent with school-based curriculum development that have surfaced at various parts of the system in recent times. Ensuing chapters of the study describe the survey and discuss the findings. The survey, which involved the completion of a questionnaire consisting of four parts, was designed to provide information regarding the extent to which the philosophies of school-based curriculum development have been adopted, the effectiveness of school and systemic support, the extent to which teachers have coped with associated problems and to identify areas of need within the ACT education system with regard to school-based curriculum development. The concluding section discusses the implications of these findings and suggests a number of areas of need within the primary sector of the ACT Educational System that will have to be satisfied if it is not to suffer by comparison with Australian state primary education systems in the future. Possible areas for future research were then suggested and the future of school-based curriculum development in ACT primary schools was discussed.

This study highlights the professional development needs and perceptions of secondary teachers in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) as these relate to teacher promotion level, years of teaching experience, and subject specialisation. The study also investigates the delivery mechanisms best suited to these needs and perceptions. In a devolving education system, effectiveness of teachers' professional development will depend on finding an appropriate balance between the systems' needs, the schools' needs and the needs of individual teachers. A mismatch appears to exist between the provision of professional development and teachers' perception of their professional development requirements. This study was conducted in secondary government high schools and colleges in a selected school region of the ACT. It involved circulating, collecting and analysing a survey which included seven questions related to four selected themes on professional development. These are � teachers' participation in professional development activities by time and provider � teachers' perception of the effectiveness of formal and informal professional development in and away from the workplace � teachers' preferred delivery system of professional development � professional development and the role of the Advanced Skills Teacher classification. The overall findings of this study indicate that the professional development needs of secondary teachers in the ACT are as multifaceted and diverse as those found in other studies such as Logan (1990), DEBT (1991), Boomer (1988) and the Schools Council (1990). A less centralised more devolved system of professional development has a greater chance of meeting the varied needs of individual teachers according to the DEBT (1991) study and the ACT review (ACTDET, 1993: 52). In the ACT a centralised program of professional development is provided by the Professional Development Section of the ACT Department of Education and Training (ACTDET). This centralised model of professional development delivery is the most used provider of professional development services and programs within the ACT, although 43% of the respondents in this study did not attend any courses offered by the Professional Development Section. Overall this study found very little variation occurred in teachers' beliefs about whether professional development is more effective if conducted through formal courses, or by informal associations with teachers, students and parents. The findings imply the need for a balance between on-site and off-site delivery mechanisms of professional development. Working with colleagues for professional development purposes is supported by the respondents who agreed with involving the proposed Advanced Skills Teacher 2 classification (AST 2) with specific organisational and leadership responsibilities for professional development. This study found that respondents in Health/PE and Science had very low participation rates in courses offered by the Professional Development Section, compared to other key learning areas, and they perceived that they improved their knowledge and skills to a greater degree 'on' the job, that is, at school. Teachers with extended teaching experience perceived formal courses to be a more effective means of improving their skills and knowledge. In conclusion this study raises the question of balancing the needs of the individual teacher with those of the school and the system. It has highlighted the need for a more structured professional development plan for ACT teachers so that funding and programs do not focus solely on system priorities or school priorities at the expense of the individual teachers' needs and priorities.