Modelling Success in Our Schools: What is the effect of students’ personal circumstances on assessment outcomes?
Industry/Topic: Education (Year 9 Secondary in NSW public schools)
Abstract
What constitutes Socio-Economic Status (SES)? Mainstream discourse defines SES by a narrow metric of quantitative data that arbitrarily numerate collective disadvantage. Whilst these values are usually accurate and available on public forums, they seldom recognise the personal hurdles students overcome to achieve their grades. In a post-modern society that prioritises group identity over individual experience, assessment grades fail to appreciate the unique composition of classrooms. As a result, educators and academics tend to label student assessment and SES data into grade-point baskets that fail to fully capture the personal circumstances that constrain academic success.
This paper will delve deeper into the individual circumstances that influence assessment outcomes by taking SES to the micro-educational level. Through a case study on a standard Year 9 class at De La Salle College (DLS) Revesby Heights. Unlike previous SES studies in contemporary academia that focus on purely quantitative data to tell the story of children in a class. This mixed-method study will combine quantitative and qualitative data to deconstruct the correlation between student achievement and their socio-economic starting point. Hence, the sample space excludes ‘collective’ data such as ‘cultural background’ and school SES rankings since they are easily accessible on the My School (2021) website.
Rather, this paper will collect individual data from each student in the class, such as parental income, educational views, and language. This will assist in analysing the impact of each student’s unique circumstances on a Year 9 class’s assessment outcomes. Holistically, this journal is the first step in developing an education mechanism that appreciates the various circumstances of each student and fosters an equal playing field for life’s opportunities. Possibly reworking the ranking system of summative assessment and grading systems in order to restore the classroom into a meritocratic place of learning.
Year: 2022
University Level: Masters (research thesis)
Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leadership: A Critical Evaluation
Industry/Topic: Education (secondary teaching), leadership, culture.
Abstract: Culturally responsive leadership is a central component of the contemporary educational system as a social institution. This paper will break down how the post-colonial leadership hierarchy implements the mainstream and disregards the hidden and marginalised curriculum Through the deconstruction of policies, prescribed pedagogies and biased behavioural management systems. This paper will use De La Salle College Revesby Heights (DLS) as a microcosm to break down the assumption that meritocracy is an effective element of culturally responsive leadership. Where, in fact, leadership structures continue to propagate the same tenets of post-colonisation in modern Catholic education. This will be evaluated through the discipline of critical theory, by integrating reflexive analysis to illustrate how a social institution shapes the social, cultural, and economic capital of students. Consequently, I will highlight the impacts on students through the transmission of preconceived ideas of privilege that create spheres of social stratification.
Notably, I completed this evaluation with a long history at De La Salle College Revesby
Heights (DLS). I was a student at the school for six years during my formative years as a teenager. I was highly active in the community being on the Student Representative Council (SRC), College Vice-Captain and Lasallian Youth Leader (LYL). I am making note of this, as this will form a large crux of my reflexive evaluation, drawing upon my own experiences and old mindsets, and how it has changed over time. I will also bring in my current experience as a casual and pre-service teacher at DLS. I detail how my viewpoints have transformed due to the realisation that I am part of a greater patriarchy that manifests competition and rank based on purity of behaviour, faith, and academic success
Year: 2023
University Level: Masters (essay)
Critical Reflection: Oppositional Defiance Disorder
Industry/Topic: Education (secondary teaching), disability, health.
Abstract: Disability is often an arbitrary label that casts an ambiguous shadow over the learning progress of a spectrum of students across the education sector. It is disingenuous to assume students with intellectual, physical, and cognitive differences with a singular brush. Each student has a metaphorical ‘backpack’ that fosters diversity of learning that extends beyond the singular narratives of the abled or disabled. This paper attempts to utilise a focus student to show that access to quality education is not only a core tenet of social justice, but a multifaceted topic that encompasses a plethora of perspectives with a vast array of possible solutions to improve the opportunities for students.
Year: 2023
University Level: Masters (essay)
Purpose of Education: The Contested Idea of Curriculum
Industry/Topic: Education, curriculum, development and learning.
Abstract: The The purpose of education is a deeply contested concept that contains a plethora of viewpoints that create multilayered curricula. The dominant discourse embodies the post-reformation belief that education is a social good that transcends the authority of aristocracy. This contributes to a collective national identity of individual empowerment, responsibility, qualified learning, and collaboration. An essential facet in understanding this progressive purpose is that it accommodates classroom diversity by treating education as not purely a
formal context but a social practice that contributes to students’ long-term transformation into productive members of society. However, this approach has weaknesses, including constraints on ‘social reconstructionism’ pedagogy, bureaucracy (red tape) and neoliberal pressures on performativity. This paper will deconstruct the plethora of perspectives on the purpose of education within a dynamic and fast-paced postmodern global society by comparing the Australian and Scottish contexts
Year: 2022
University Level: International Summer School (University of Stirling)
The Commercialisation of Football: A Case Study of the Scottish Premiership
Industry/Topic: Sport management, education, football.
Abstract: The The Scottish identity is inextricably linked to football, it’s interwoven into the fabric of the history, consciousness, and uniqueness of the nation. Football embodies the intersectional beliefs of the Scottish people by bringing different groups together with a unifying passion for a club, team, or player. Its importance in expressing religion, ideology and political sectarianism is an undeniable element of Scotland’s history. These traditional ideas are encapsulated by the contemporary Scottish Premiership’s keystone clubs, Celtic and Rangers. However, despite the interconnectedness of football as a living element of Scottish culture, the neoliberal rise of modern business is having a profound impact on this innate relationship. The commercialisation and some would argue exploitation of this connection is shaping the nature of the Premiership’s infrastructure, frameworks, and competitions. This paper will deconstruct how the dynamic and globalised ‘beautiful game’ is slowly changing the identity of Scottish football to align with the commercialised English perspective
Year: 2022
University Level: International Summer School (University of Stirling)
Positive Behaviour in the Classroom
Industry/Topic: Education (secondary teaching), discipline and development.
Abstract: The extracts outline the varying theoretical approaches to behaviour management in the classroom. The papers deconstruct the instructor-centric, balanced and student-centric dimensions of the behavioural continuum. Various model are discussed to compare the effectiveness of each style in certain schooling contexts. The case studies provide a hypothetical analysis of the possible impacts of certain behavioural management techniques, positive and negative. Whilst the comparative study of the public and Catholic schooling systems through a microcosm of two local schools further explores the nuances of the topic. The complex nature of behavioural studies fosters a compelling argument for each of the different approaches that teachers may undertake.
Year: 2021
University Level: Masters
Environmental Economics
Industry/Topic: Approaches to Sustainability (Policymaking)
Abstract: Climate change in the context of environmental economics refers to the dramatic change in global and regional climate patterns, attributed mostly to the presence of negative externalities such as fossil fuels. This paper will deconstruct the economic factors that contribute to the large variability in climate patterns, especially the unsustainable use of limited perishable resources. This compounded with the deficiencies of current government regulation, makes this phenomenon a pivotal debate in the dynamic threshold of economics. Through various models learnt in lectures and the textbook, supplemented by the given research articles, this paper will make informed recommendations in order to ensure inter-generational sustainability, considering the current information on climate change that is available at this static point in time. Therein, considering the various schools of thought on the usefulness of technology to solve problems associated with climate change, this paper will offer possible solutions that can maximise not only positive externalities, but control the causes of climate variability.
Year: 2017
University Level: Undergraduate (w/ distinction)
Tourism Industry
Industry/Topic: Economics, Tourism, Business
Abstract: Tourism in the contemporary context has evolved into a complex network of inter-relationships that are intertwined by traveller generating regions (TGRs), tourism destination regions (TDRs) and touristic travel routes (TTRs). The industry in the post-Industrial Revolution phase has evolved from a targeted market of exclusively affluent stakeholders to a larger mass tourism model. This mega-trend has been fostered by environmental changes within the tourism system. A vast range of academic papers and journal articles indicate that various external forces have contributed to these changes in the technological and economic environment. These powerful forces encompass transportation advancements, expansion of the middle-class, mass distribution developments and economic liberalisation. Notwithstanding, these industrialised Machiavellian constructs have produced a plethora of long-term impacts that will shape the future flows of tourists within the Leiper model.
Year: 2018
University Level: Undergraduate (w/ distinction)
Financial System
Industry/Topic: Finance, Technology
Abstract: This report will deconstruct the basic functions, infrastructure and technological processes that encompass the current payment system. Through research into secondary resources including data, academic journals and financial opinion pieces, compounded with primary knowledge on the topic, the common disruptions to the financial system will be dissected. These disruptions will be analysed and illustrated to outline causes and effects through written and graphical format. Ongoing references provide footnotes to available sources of information that form the backbone of this report. With an abundance of data and academic material, the report will offer recommended solutions to the possible implications of financial disruptors.
Year: 2017
University Level: Undergraduate (w/ distinction)
Human Resource Management (HRM)
Industry/Topic: Post-Bureaucratic Era, HRM, Globalisation, Economics of Change
Abstract: The structural sphere of human resource management as a strategic function has changed within the post- bureaucratic era to a more flexible, casual and interactive means of ensuring the right resources are cultivated for long-term success of the business. Despite changing values and streams of power; human resource management (HRM) as a holistic concept continues to be a key function within contemporary organisations to ensure the right people in a workplace environment that is positive & prosperous, with recruitment channels that are effective with valuable motivation and feedback mechanisms in order to propel the multi-linear growth of employees with an overall objective of ensuring the correct resources are ready for the future. As noted by various journal articles, the function has changed considerably throughout time, from the rigid centralised single-chain hierarchy with tight managerial control and formal corrective feedback to highly flexible managerial control, decentralised recruitment and positive feedback. Despite such changes, its core strategic function of placing the right resources in the correct environments for long-term growth has remained potent.
Date: 2015
University Level: Undergraduate (w/ distinction)
Professional Sport
Industry/Topic: Business of Sport
Abstract: The overall theme that is being discussed is the recent inclination of NSOs (National Sports Organisations) to transform their business model from the ‘public broadcasting’ scheme into the online realms of subscription based streaming innovations like the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) Network, NRL (National Rugby League) Digital Pass & NBA (National Basketball Association) League Pass. The problem arises, as there is clear duplicity between the negative impacts on broadcasting stakeholders & the positive impacts including more affordable price points, marketable product to tech-savvy demographic & flexibility platform delivery.
Date: 2016
University Level: Undergraduate (w/ distinction)
Shared Economy
Industry/Topic: Taxi, Shared Economy
Abstract: The study of economics is underpinned by the primary rule that firms` main goal is to maximise profit, hence industries as a whole wish to maximise revenue and minimise costs. Therefore, throughout the analysis of the taxi service industry considering the substantial market infiltration of Uber and other ride-sharing apps within the ‘shared economy’, it is important to keep in mind that profit is the main goal of any industry. Despite the dynamic changes of the taxi services industry, the key economic principles of scarce resources, rational choices & the metaphorical ‘invisible hand’ still remain valid and are thus key economic tools to dissect the changes in the domestic and international taxi service industry. Throughout this paper we explore the key industry changes of taxi services as well as the decisions of which ultimately determine the welfare implications within the current market structure, These outcomes result in outcomes such as the equilibrium quantity of production, consumer and producer surplus, DWL (deadweight loss) and the profit-maximising/loss minimising quantity. Throughout the paper, graphical representations of notable economic theorems/laws such as ATC, MC & MR curves; demand & supply equilibriums, production function(s) & long-run average cost curves will complement research & economic reasoning; in order to provide a holistic discussion into the topic. With all this economic information at hand, the paper further discusses possible future directions of the market & its implications on an international scale.
Date: 2016
University Level: Undergraduate (w/ distinction)
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