Expectations for learning don't add up - Griffith University

Winter 2008 PAGE 1
Expectations for learning
don’t add up
Indigenous students living in remote parts of
Australia are most at risk of performing poorly
on national tests. For many of these students,
coming to learn school mathematics represents a
significant challenge, in part, due to the differences
in the cultures of the home and the school.
Furthermore, geographical isolation creates
difficulties for education systems to
place teachers in these ‘hard to
staff’ regions so that teacher
turnover is high. In this
context, an international
team of researchers
lead by Professor
Robyn Zevenbergen
(Griffith University) and includes Professor
Peter Sullivan (Monash University); Professor
Steve Lerman (London South Bank University);
Professor Jo Boaler (Sussex University) and Dr
Peter Grootenboer (Griffith University) along with
the Industry Partner, Association of Independent
Schools of Western Australia, has developed an
intervention project that seeks to change teaching
practices so as to enhance mathematical learning
in the Kimberley region.
Based on research conducted by Stanford
University and modified for the Australian
Indigenous context, the project has designed a
teaching intervention that incorporates aspects of
group work, high expectations, rich mathematical
experiences and inclusive educational principles.
The project also adopts an assessment-for-learning
approach where teachers employ diagnostic
assessment tools to identify what students know
(as opposed to models of what they don’t know)
and then to develop appropriate teachings to
scaffold the learners to move forward in their
mathematical understandings. The third
aspect of the project is to develop a
community of learners among the
teachers as well as the students.
The remote location of the
schools means that
teachers are hundreds
of kilometres away
(up to 800kms)
from each
... continued page 3

PAGE 2
GRIFFITH INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH NEWSLETTER
Editorial
Welcome to the first edition of the Griffith Institute for
Educational Research (GIER) newsletter. The newsletter
will be a quarterly feature, with issues in Winter, Spring,
Summer and Autumn. Through this newsletter, we will
share the successes of members with our community.
August 2008 will mark the first anniversary of the
establishment of the Institute with members across all
campuses of Griffith University. In that time, there have
been many successes of the members. These will be
profiled in the coming editions. Each edition will include
stories on current research projects being managed
by GIER members; successes and profiles of research
students; publications; profiles of members; and
important diary dates.
GIER members research major issues related to
learning, focusing particularly on issues impacting on
learning in a rapidly changing world and how individuals
and communities can be assisted to learn to engage
effectively with social change.
In the coming months, GIER will be supporting a range
of activities including our first Research Higher Degree
conference in October; a range of workshops to support
quality publications and develop partnerships with
industries relevant to the various research interests of
members; and a
range of public
seminars featuring
prominent
speakers in
the area of
learning and
social change.
The Institute is
currently planning
a showcase of
research projects
stemming from
successful grants
over the past
three years.
GIER is keen to
support initiatives
that will emerge
into “Signature
Projects” with
strong industry
Professor Robyn Zevenbergen
Director, Griffith Institute for
Educational Research
collaborations. These Projects will be focussed on
significant issues related to learning and social change.
Griffith Institute for Educational
Research newsletter
is the newsletter of the Griffith Institute for
Educational Research
Griffith University
Mt Gravatt campus
Brisbane Qld 4111 Australia
www.griffith.edu.au/education/griffith-instituteeducational-research/
If you would like your learning and social change
related activities to be featured in this newsletter,
please contact the publisher:
Mrs Jill Moriarty, Manager
Telephone: 61 7 3735 5822
Facsimile: 61 7 3735 6985
Email: j.moriarty@griffith.edu.au
or Professor Robyn Zevenbergen, Director
Telephone 61 7 3735 6973
Facsimile: 61 7 3735 6985
Email: r.zevenbergen@griffith.edu.au
Research examines eLearning in
schools in Taiwan
Associate Professor Pei Chen Sun from the Institute
for Information and Computer Education, National
Kaohsiung Normal University, Taiwan will be a Visiting
Scholar located in the School of Education and
Professional Studies Gold Coast from 15 August until 13
September 2008.
Collaborative research with GIER member, Dr Glenn
Finger will be undertaken examining eLearning,
including research on eLearning in schools in Taiwan.
The outcome of this research will be incorporated in
the book The Home School Nexus – The Development
of Networked School Communities, currently under
contract, being co-authored by Mal Lee and Dr Glenn
Finger.
The real value and strength Sun brings is not only his
work and projects on eLearning in Taiwan (a world leader
in ICT), but his advanced knowledge and application of
quantitative research methodologies.
IN THIS ISSUE
• PARTNERSHIPS
• EVENTS
• RESEARCH
• MEMBER PROFILES
• STUDENT PROFILES
• PUBLICATIONS
• MEMBERS’ NEWS
• VISITORS

Winter 2008 PAGE 3
Expectations for learning don’t add up
... continued from page 1
other so collaborations and discussions are often very
limited. The project is developing an on-line community
(www.kimberleymaths.org) where teachers are able
to communicate with each other. In this forum, the
resources that are developed through the project are
kept in the on-line environment so that future teachers
will be able to draw on the rich data bank of resources
that will be developed throughout the project.
The project is working with 6 schools in the east Kimberley
region with most schools being in the Fitzroy basin. In
the wet season, many of the communities are isolated for
months by the flooded Fitzroy River. The schools serve
the early years of schooling through to Year 10. Many of
the local people are involved in the project and participate
in the in-service activities. The project works across all
years of schooling and has approximately 30 teaching
staff as participants. All AISWA schools in the region are
participating in the study.
The project is funded through the Australian Research
Council’s Linkage Grant scheme for 4 years with AISWA
as the Industry Partner.
Indigenous community
participation in health
education decision making
Dr Sue Whatman, a Visiting Scholar from the
Queensland University of Technology will be publishing
from her research, and exploring research collaborations
in the area of Indigenous education.
Dr Whatman presented a seminar on the 17th June on
the research protocols, methodological considerations
and stages of critical ethnographic case study used in
an investigation into the nature and extent of Indigenous
community participation in school health education
decision making, specifically for girls.
The full investigation, conducted over three years,
was concerned with identifying stakeholders in health
education for girls, describing the ways in which
stakeholders participated in health education decision
making, and identifying the factors that promoted or
inhibited community participation. It was informed by two
personal standpoints: firstly, that Indigenous communities
would want to participate in education decision-making
and, secondly, that community participation would be
desirable in producing good outcomes for Indigenous
students.

PAGE 4
GRIFFITH INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH NEWSLETTER
Making a contribution to Action Research
Griffith Institute for Educational Research (GIER) and
the Action Learning and Action Research Association
(ALARA) co-hosted a book launch in May to celebrate
the completion and publication of a research book titled,
“Evaluating Action Research” which was co-edited by
Eileen Piggot-Irvine from Unitec Institute of Technology,
Auckland and GIER member, Brendan Bartlett.
Professor Bob Dick, Southern Cross University, Tweed
Heads, Griffith University Adjunct Professor and coeditor
of Action Research International online journal
presented a critical overview of the text as part of the
official launch, indicating it had addressed key issues
and filled an important gap in the field with its theme of
self-critical review. He noted the introductory chapter as
an excellent reference for anyone interested in learning
about the field and saw as a particular strength that each
chapter included an appraisal of the methodology within
Below: Co-editors, Associate Professor Brendan
Bartlett (Griffith Institute for Educational Research)
and Eileen Piggot-Irvine (Unitec Institute of
Technology, Auckland) at the recent launch of their
book “Evaluating Action Research”.
the specific contexts of the various reported projects.
Professor Dick said that the collection had highlighted
Australian and New Zealand leadership in action
research.
Contributing authors included:
Brendan Bartlett, Faculty of Education, Griffith University,
Brisbane; David Ballantyne, Department of Marketing,
University of Otago, Dunedin; Carol Cardno, Unitec
Institute of Technology, Auckland; Margaret Fletcher,
Faculty of Education, Griffith University, Brisbane; Deepa
Marat, Unitec Institute
of Technology, Auckland;
Eileen Piggot-Irvine, Unitec
Institute of Technology,
Auckland; Ernest Stringer,
Curtin University of
Technology, Perth; Ortrun
Zuber-Skerritt, Faculty
of Education, Griffith
University, Brisbane.

Winter 2008 PAGE 5
Acknowledging excellence in educational research
GIER members Professor John Stevenson and Professor
Merv Hyde retired from the School of Education and
Professional Studies, but will continue to contribute to
educational research as Adjunct members of the Institute.
As founding director of Centre for Learning Research,
John has been a strong leader in educational research
within Griffith, particularly in researching and theorising
learning. John has also been involved in a number of
other Centres within the Faculty of Education, including
those in the area of vocational education. Similarly Merv
was heavily involved in deafness research and was
instrumental in the Centre for Deafness Studies. We wish
both John and Merv a very happy and enjoyable retirement
and look forward to their continued involvement in GIER.
Right: GIER members, Professor John Stevenson
(left) and Professor Merv Hyde (right).
Bridging gaps in music teacher education
GIER member, Dr Julie Ballantyne is the Lead Chief
Investigator of a Carrick Competitive Grant which
involves the development of a website that aims
to bridge the gaps between research and teaching
in music teacher education and decrease isolation
between academics, teachers and pre-service
teachers.
The project Music Teachers Oz has been developed in
response to research suggesting that music courses
are overly theory-based rather than student-focused
and that in general early-career music teachers
are dissatisfied with the pre-service education they
receive. As part of a funded learning and teaching
grant, academics from four universities developed
a new approach to music teacher education which
utilises problem-based learning and assessment. The
project aims to provide explicit links between courses
studied at university, and between the school and
university environment. As part of the project a website
was developed and launched under the web address
www.musicteachersoz.org. Its design incorporates
the use of ‘rooms’ to allow people to navigate around
the site. The project room includes information about
the project, publications and resources for music
education. The context room currently features 15 case
studies showing teachers responding to questions about
their teaching context and raising problems which need
to be solved. In the student room pre-service teachers
have access to discussion boards, a reflective journal,
dreaming room, project wiki, and an online chat room
to corporately investigate and solve the given teaching
‘problems’. Academics can meet in the research room for
online discussions and reflection.
The website’s popularity with non-students was an
unexpected strength of the project. However, the lively
use of this ‘public’ space demonstrates substantial
interest in music education and indicates that this
website can be used as a resource for pre-service
students and teachers alike.
The website currently has over 1700 people signed
up who are regularly accessing the site engaging in
student and public forums. The website’s members are
located in all States in Australia. The project also has
been attracting great international interest with members
coming from New Zealand, Hong Kong, Switzerland,
Canada, Thailand, United Arabic Emirates and the
United States of America.
For more information, please visit the site at www.
musicteachersoz.org/.

PAGE 6
GRIFFITH INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH NEWSLETTER
Building research capacity in South Africa
Above: Ms Ortrun Zuber-
Skerritt, Griffith Institute
for Educational Research
Adjunct member.
Griffith Institute
for Educational
Research (GIER)
Adjunct Professor,
Ortrun Zuber-Skerritt,
recently conducted two
residential professional
development programs
in higher education
through Action
Learning and Action
Research Association
(ALARA) in South
Africa with colleagues
from the University of
Stellenbosch.
The first was a
four-day research
retreat with nine local
female academics
in the Curriculum
Development and
Support Unit (CDS) at the Tshwane University of
Technology (TUT) in Pretoria. The aims were to help
these women to build research capacity in their fiveyear
scholarship-based project on aspects of “access,
retention and success of students in TUT”; and in
particular to develop their ability to write a literature
review and research proposal for a higher degree or
grant application.
These women had been teachers in historically
disadvantaged institutions of higher education
(so-called technikons) before the merger
into TUT. They were placed in leadership
positions in a central research and development unit
in this new university, charged with improving learning,
teaching and curriculum design in the whole university
with no experience in the area. Yet these women are
extremely motivated and committed.
The second residential professional development
program was the result of a successful grant application
to AusAID funding a three-day leadership development
program in Stellenbosch for project teams working on
various aspects of the central theme “poverty reduction
and improvement of practice in the health sciences and
education” using ALARA methodology. The program
brought together 24 program participants from six African
countries. GIER member, Associate Professor Brendan
Bartlett also facilitated a session on Evaluation.
Three teams from Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda
received funding for travel and accommodation from
AusAID through its Seminar Support Scheme (SSS),
with sponsorship by OZI (Ortrun Zuber International Pty
Ltd), the University of Stellenbosch (Centre for Adult
and Higher Education) and Griffith University (GIER).
Self- and other-funded individuals and teams from
South Africa, Malawi and Mozambique, who were also
interested in this theme, were accepted into the program
by our colleagues in Stellenbosch.
All facilitators and participants have been invited to
contribute to a book on “Improving Practice for Poverty
Reduction through Action Research: Leadership
Development in African Countries”. In addition to this,
a joint paper on “Meta-action research on a leadership
development program in Africa” will be submitted for
publication to integrate research and development as
reflective practitioners and action researchers.

Winter 2008 PAGE 7
Sustaining older workers’ competence
A Griffith University research project will identify
practices for workplaces and educational institutions
to sustain and develop the skills of Australia’s growing
number of older workers. Griffith Institute for Educational
Research member and program leader, Professor
Stephen Billett says maintaining the effective working life
of older Australian workers is essential for sustaining the
economic and social health of the nation. “It’s important
for older people’s sense of workplace efficacy and sense
of self as productive members of the community,’’ he
said.
In most advanced industrial economies, if you are
working and over 45 years of age, you are classified
as an ‘older worker’. Yet, for many older workers,
this categorisation brings a range of ambiguities and
contradictions.
In countries like Australia, the realisation of key social
and economic goals is becoming increasingly dependent
upon an older workforce. This is because older workers
comprise a growing percentage of the nation’s workforce.
There is a decline in the number of workers entering the
workforce, and people are electing or will have to work
longer. The reality is that to sustain the quality and extent
of the nation’s goods and services, the competence
of these older workers will need to be maintained and
sustained, for longer. Like other categories of workers,
these workers also need to maintain that competence
in face of constant changes to work and ways of
working. Yet, in the provision of opportunities for further
development and advancement employers tend to
overlook older workers. The preference is for supporting
and promoting younger and well-qualified workers.
This preference may well continue as younger workers
increasingly become a scarce commodity.
Working with colleagues from the University of Stirling,
this International Linkage project seeks to identify ways
to sustain older workers’ occupational competence
through a program of collaborative research in Australia
and Britain. Both countries have unresolved concerns
about maintaining the effectiveness of older workers
and developing their capacities to manage their
transitions to new work, ways of working and current
work requirements. The project aims to: (i) inform
policy and practice for both countries’ workplaces
and education institutions to effectively maintain older
workers’ capacities and managing work transitions; (ii)
identify appropriate learning strategies and curriculum
practices for these purposes in both workplaces and
educational institutions; (iii) identify, evaluate and share
instances of good practice in workplaces and educational
programmes; and (iv) develop effective institutional
responses to this shared problem. To realise these aims,
older workers’ competence in each country, two industry
sectors will be investigated in Australia compatible with
the British counterpart program. Within each industry
sector, there will be 30 interviews and five focus groups
with older workers to identify key factors shaping the
prospects for older workers’ continuing workplace
competence. These factors will be elaborated through
up to six case studies. Then, a survey will be undertaken
across a wider cohort of older workers to verify the
plausibility of what has been identified in these earlier
activities.

PAGE 8
GRIFFITH INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH NEWSLETTER
In the spotlight: profiling our staff
Professor Stephen Billett
Above: Professor Stephen Billett, PHD, M Education,
B Arts, Dip Teaching (TAFE), Professor of Education
and GIER Member.
Dr Julie Ballantyne
Dr Julie Ballantyne completed her PhD in music teacher
education in 2005 and has been a lecturer in the School of
Education and Professional Studies at the Gold Coast campus
since July last year. Julie is on the editorial board of the
International Journal of Music Education, and is the editor of
a forthcoming book to be published by Cambridge Scholars
Publishing entitled Navigating Music and Sound Education.
Julie is the Lead Chief Investigator of an Australian Learning
and Teaching Council (formerly Carrick) Competitive Grant,
that aims to bridge the gap between research and teaching
in music teacher education and decrease isolation between
academics, teachers and pre-service teachers.This project will
hopefully be extended in 2009-2010 with a Leadership Grant
funded by the ALTC to further build a community of educators
dedicated to collaboratively developing improved structures,
networks and practices in the discipline of music teacher
education. The Griffith University Research Infrastructure
Grant ‘eMERGe’ was funded last year and involves the
building of a ‘hub’ in music education research, enabling
academics worldwide to collaborate on research, and discuss
their emerging ideas with the wider community.
Julie is presenting five workshops and papers at the
International Society of Music Education Conference and
Commission seminars in Rome and Bologna, Italy. Julie
plans to extend her research into exploring the nexus between
musical engagement, identity, and its impact on social and
psychological well-being.
Professor Stephen Billett has researched learning
through and for work since 1992 and has published
widely in the fields of vocational learning, workplace
learning and conceptual accounts of learning. These
include publications in Culture and Psychology, Learning
and Instruction and Mind, Culture and Activity, Studies in
Continuing Education and as well as sole authored books
(Learning through work: Strategies for effective practice
(Allen and Unwin 2001); Work, change and workers
(Springer 2006); and edited volume (Work, Subjectivity
and Learning; Emerging perspectives of workplace
learning) secured over $1.5 million in competitively
funded grants from Australian Research Council, National
Vocational Educational and Training Research funds,
Fulbright Foundation, state and private sector. He
also holds a Fellowship of the Australian Teaching and
Learning Council (formerly Carrick Institute).
Professor Billett is currently on the editorial boards of
7 refereed journals, including the American Education
Research Journal, the second most cited journal in the
field, and he reviews articles for many other journals.
He is the Founding and Executive Editor of Vocations
and Learning, a journal of professional and vocational
education published by Springer.
Below: Dr Julie Ballantyne, B Music, B Education,
A.Mus.A. PhD, Lecturer, School of Education and
Professional Studies and GIER Associate Member.

Winter 2008 PAGE 9
Profiling our students
Shawn Lourigan recently completed his PhD confirmation
Above: PhD student, Shawn Lourigan BA (Hons)
PGDipED MVA.
Dr Wayne Usher recently graduated with his PhD
Dr Wayne Usher has a Diploma of Teaching, Graduate
Diploma in Health Science, Master of Health Science,
and recently completed his PhD on Empire and the
‘Internet Prescription’: Influences that motivate general
practitioners to recommend health websites to the health
consumer. In the first Australian study of its kind, Wayne
surveyed 108 Gold Coast general practitioners as part
of his PhD research to determine the extent to which
health websites are being recommended by general
practitioners to the health consumer.
Wayne is now an Associate Lecturer in the School
of Education and Professional Studies (Gold Coast).
His research interests include school and community
health, physical education, medical education, general
practitioners and the internet. Current studies include
online health information and the impacts of health
websites on general practitioners and the health
consumer.
Wayne’s future research interests will be to undertake
a nationwide survey to determine the extent to which
health websites are being recommended by general
practitioners to the health consumer. Similarly, he is
interested in investigating the online health information
seeking behaviours of school aged children.
Shawn Lourigan completed his Bachelor of Arts degree
in 1995, majoring in English Literature and Modern
History. In 1996 he obtained his secondary teacher
qualifications from the University of Queensland. Shawn
completed his Honours degree at Queensland University
of Technology in 1997 with an examination of the
causality of the troubles in Northern Ireland. He has also
completed a Masters in Visual Arts (Documentary) from
Griffith Film School. For the past ten years Shawn has
worked as a secondary school teacher for Education
Queensland, teaching in the areas of Humanities and
Social Sciences.
Under the supervision of Associate Professor Rod
Gardner (Griffith Institute for Education Research) and
Professor Mohammed Abdalla (Griffith Islamic Research
Unit) Shawn is currently undertaking research for his
PhD on “Political Statements And Their Impact On
Islamic Representations In The Australian Media Post
9/11”.
Shawn’s research will examine the role that political
commentary, combined with the tabloid print media,
have had in inflaming anti-Islamic sentiment in Australia
and what future consequences these policies will have
on the Muslim community in Australia.
Below: Dr Wayne Usher, Dip Teaching, GDip Health
Science, M Health Science, PhD, Associate Lecturer,
School of Education and Professional Studies.
“Many health professionals would be willing to undertake
certified web-based continuing medical education
courses,” he said.
“The inclusion of programs in medical schools is a
possible strategy for preparing future GPs for internet
prescribing.
“These are important initiatives towards creating a more
reliable and safer e-health environment for all.”

PAGE 10
GRIFFITH INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH NEWSLETTER
Exploring Technology Education conference
The 5th Biennial
International Conference
on Technology Education
Research “Exploring
Technology Education:
Solutions to issues in a
Globalised World” will be held
from 27-29 November 2008 at the
Crowne Plaza Hotel, Surfers Paradise,
Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia.
Keynote speakers include David
Johnston (Oxford University), Clare Benson
(Birmingham City University), and Judith
Moreland (Waikato University).
Delegates will come from a wide range of
technology education stakeholders - teacher
educators, teachers, researchers, post-graduate
students, policy makers, curriculum developers,
consultants, and members of the broader educational
community.
Members’ news
Evaluating the Canadian Council of Learning
Professor Stephen Billett has been appointed to the
Expert Panel that provides an evaluation of the Canadian
Council of Learning, a C$85 million initiative of the
Canadian government, and will prepare a report that
identifies its worth and possible alternative structures
and programs to realise goals associated with lifelong
learning for Canadians.
Developing a comprehensive reference resource
on information communication technologies
Dr Glenn Finger co-authored a chapter that was selected
for inclusion in the six volume definitive resource
on information communication
technologies representing ‘the most
comprehensive reference work in
this field…[covering] such topics
as ad-hoc networks, collaborative
environments, e-governance, and
urban information systems’.
Measuring the quality of work integrated learning
Dr Calvin Smith has been awarded a Griffith University
Research Grant (GURG) to develop and validate
measures of key quality indicators for Work Integrated
Learning (WIL) curricula.
Registration closes 12 October 2008.
For more information or to download a
registration form, please visit www.griffith.edu.
au/education/griffith-institute-educational-research/
events/technology-education-research-conference2.
Influencing policy on deafness and human rights
Professor Merv Hyde delivered the keynote address at
the Nordic Conference on The dual languages of deaf
and hearing-impaired children in Gothenburg, Sweden.
His topic was Deafness and Human Rights: How the
2007 UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities may influence current policies and programs.
Exploring research collaboration with Indonesia
Professor Howard Middleton met with a delegation from
Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Indonesia to discuss the
activities of the Griffith Institute for Educational Research
and explore the possibilities for research collaboration.
Maths Education Research Journal editorship
GIER Director, Professor Robyn Zevenbergen, and
GIER members, Dr Peter Grootenboer and Dr Ray
Brown have been successful in securing the editorship
of MERJ (Mathematics Education Research Journal) for
a three year period commencing 1 July 2008. MERJ is
an international refereed journal that provides a forum for
the publication of research on the teaching and learning
of mathematics at all levels.

Winter 2008 PAGE 11
Recent publications
Professor Stephen Billett
Billett, S. (2008) “Adult Education – adult learning,
instruction and program planning: Workplace learning
frameworks” in E. Baker, B. McGaw and P. Peterson (eds)
International Encyclopaedia of Education, 3rd Edition,
Elsevier: Oxford.
Billett, S. (2008) “Changing conceptions of work and work
practice” in R. Maclean, D.N. Wilson and C. Chinien (eds)
International Handbook on Education for the World of Work,
Springer Academic Publication, Dordecht, The Netherlands.
Billett, S. (2008) “Integrating contributions of workplace
and college experiences in developing vocational
knowledge” in R. Maclean, D.N. Wilson and C. Chinien
(eds) International Handbook on Education for the World
of Work, Springer Academic Publication, Dordecht, The
Netherlands.
Billett, S. (2008) “Transforming Teachers’ Practice Through
Action Learning” in R. Maclean, D.N. Wilson and C. Chinien
(eds) International Handbook on Education for the World
of Work, Springer Academic Publication, Dordecht, The
Netherlands.
Billett, S. (2008) “The Technical, Vocational Education and
Training Profession” in R. Maclean, D.N. Wilson and C.
Chinien (eds) International Handbook on Education for the
World of Work, Springer Academic Publication, Dordecht,
The Netherlands.
Billett, S., Barker, M. and Smith, R. (2008) “Relational
interdependence as means to examine work, learning and
the remaking of cultural practices” in Wim J. Nijhof and
Loek F.M. Nieuwenhuis (eds) The learning potential of the
workplace, Sense Publishers, Dordecht, The Netherlands.
Billett, S. (2008) “Rich vocational learning: Effectively
utilising workplace settings and integrating them with
intentional educational experiences” in Athanasou, J. (ed)
Adult Education and Training, David Barlow Publishing,
Sydney NSW (pp.175-186).
Billett, S. (2008) “Participation and learning in turbulent
times: Negotiations between the community and the
personal” in K. Church, N. Bascia and E. Shragge (eds)
Out of Bounds: Participatory Practices for Learning through
Community, (21-36) Springer Academic Publication,
Dordecht, The Netherlands. ISBN 978-1-4020-6653-5.
Billett, S. (2008) “Learning throughout working life: A
relational interdependence between social and individual
agency” British Journal of Education Studies, 55 (1) 39-58.
Billett, S. and van Woerkom, M. (2008) “Personal
epistemologies and older workers” International Journal of
Lifelong Learning, 27 (3) 333-348.
Vähäsantanen, K. and Billett, S. (2008) “Negotiating
professional identity: vocational teachers’ personal
strategies in a reform context” in S. Billett, C. Harteis and A.
Eteläpelto, (eds) Emerging perspectives of learning through
work. Sense Publishing, BV, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Associate Professor Brendan Bartlett
Piggot-Irvine, E. and Bartlett, B. J. (eds) (2008)
Evaluating Action Research, New Zealand Research
Council: Auckland, New Zealand.
Dr Glenn Finger
Finger, G., McGlasson, M., and Finger, P. (2008).
“Information and Communication Technologies: Towards
a Mediated Learning Context” in Craig Van Slyke (Ed.),
Information Communication Technologies: Concepts,
Methodologies, Tools, and Applications, IGI Global.
Sun, P., Tsai, R.J., Finger, G., Chen, Y., & Yeh, D.
(2008). “What drives a successful e-Learning? An
empirical investigation of the critical factors influencing
learner satisfaction” Computers and Education, Elsevier.
Vol. 50, Issue 4, pp. 1103-1586.
Dr Margaret Fletcher
Fletcher, M. and Zuber-Skerritt, O. (2008) “Professional
development through action research: Case studies in
South African higher education” Systemic Practice and
Action Research, 21: 73–96.
Dr Michael Haugh
Haugh, Michael (ed) (2008) “Intention in pragmatics”.
Special issue of Intercultural Pragmatics, 5, 2: 99-260
(Mouton de Gruyter).
Haugh, Michael (2008) “Intention in pragmatics”,
Intercultural Pragmatics, 5, 2: 99-110.
Haugh, Michael (2008) “Intention and diverging
interpretings of implicature in the “uncovered meat”
sermon”, Intercultural Pragmatics, 5, 2: 201-230.
Haugh, Michael (2008) “The discursive negotiation of
international student identities”, Discourse: Studies in the
Cultural Politics of Education, 29, 2: 207-222.
Professor Mervyn Hyde
Hyde, M. and Hoie, G. (2008) Constructing educational
discourses on deafness, Norwegian Government
Printers: Skadalen Resource Centre, Oslo Norway ISBN
978-82-9165527-7.
Dr Calvin Smith
Smith C.D. (2008) “Building effectiveness in teaching
through targeted evaluation and response: connecting
evaluation to teaching improvement in higher education”
Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education,
(available on iFirst).

PAGE 12
PhD completions
The GIER is proud to introduce the following PhD
candidates who have recently completed their qualifying
program:
Dr Jan Allan
Doctor of Philosophy
Research topic: Participation, Identity and Culture: An
exploration of changing subjectivities through the life
trajectories and social and work practices of selected
farm women.
Principal Supervisor: Professor Stephen Billett
Associate Supervisor: Dr Maree Boyle
Dr Sarah Prestridge
Doctor of Philosophy
Research topic: Models of teacher information
and communication technology (ICT) professional
development that empower multiliterate classroom
practices.
Principal Supervisor: Professor Neil Dempster
Associate Supervisors: Dr Glenn Finger
Dr Wayne Usher
Doctor of Philosophy
Research topic: Empire and the ‘internet prescription’:
influences that motivate general practitioners to
recommend medical (health) websites to the health
consumer.
Principal Supervisor: Dr James Skinner
Associate Supervisor: Dr Glenn Finger
Dr Natasha Walker
Doctor of Education
Research topic: Managing the Study-Abroad Experience:
An investigation of the role pressures experienced by
Japanese educational programme coordinators in a
non-profit organisation in Japan, in response to non-
Japanese students.
Principal Supervisor: Dr Juliette Goldman
Associate Supervisor: Professor Merv Hyde
GRIFFITH INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH NEWSLETTER
Diary dates
Refer to the Griffith Institute for Educational Research
website at www.griffith.edu.au/education/griffithinstitute-educational-research/
for updates on these
and other events:
GIER Research Showcase
Monday 15 September 2008 — 6.00pm-8.00pm
Level 7, Web Centre (S02) Queensland College of Art,
South Bank campus, Griffith University.
Researchers of the Institute will showcase their current
research activities in partnership with industry and the
community. All welcome. RSVP k.knight@griffith.edu.au.
Learning and Social Change public seminars
Seminars are held in Room 5.01, Level 5, Social Science
Building (M10), Mt Gravatt campus, Griffith University.
Dr Rupert Maclean (Director, UNEVOC International
Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training
Education for Peace Building and Sustainable
Development: Delusion, illusion or reality?
Friday 12 September 2008 — 6.00pm-7.00pm
Professor Stephen Lerman (Director, Centre for
Mathematics Education, London South Bank University)
Professor Robyn Zevenbergen (Director, Griffith Institute
for Educational Research)
Dr Richard Niesche (Research Assistant, Griffith Institute
for Educational Research)
Mourning and Reforming Education: Changing practice to
create sustainable learning environments
Monday 20 October 2008 — 6.00pm-7.00pm
Conferences
5th Biennial International Conference on Technology
Education Research
Exploring Technology Education: Solutions to issues in a
globalised world
27-29 November 2008
Crowne Plaza Hotel, Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast,
Queensland, Australia.
Forums and workshops
GIER Inaugural Research Higher Degree Forum
3-4 October 2008
Hilton Hotel, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.