Education Topics No. 1/2018

Success in Senior Secondary Education

Getting things right in Senior Secondary education is highly complex. Working with young adults, balancing competing demands, fostering individual wellbeing as well as a sense of teamwork amongst peers, maximising academic outcomes while also being mindful of each student’s future pathway – the nuances and complications are endless. Despite the difficulties involved, it is clear that the Senior Secondary years are very important, and it is imperative that schools do their best to help make this stage of schooling a success for all students. Through Growth to Achievement, the reporti from the Review to Achieve Educational Excellence in Australian Schools, was released in April 2018. The Review, under the Chairmanship of Mr David Gonski AC, was established to build the evidence base needed to ensure the growing investment by governments and parents in school education is spent on initiatives proven to make a positive difference to student outcomes. The report identifies three major priorities, the second of which is, ‘Equip every student to be a creative, connected and engaged learner in a rapidly changing world.’

The report calls for a review of senior secondary schooling to ensure it equips all students for the future. The authors express concern that ‘general capabilities…critical to equipping students with the skills necessary to

What is good practice in senior

secondary education, and how is this

exemplified in Northern Territory

Independent Schools?

successfully live and work in a changing world and are increasingly sought after by employers’ii are not part of the senior curriculum. ‘In senior secondary schooling, attention shifts to discipline knowledge, with teachers operating in silos and less consideration is given to the development of an integrated and interconnected set of knowledge, skills, behaviours and dispositions that apply across learning areas. This lack of consideration of capabilities such as personal and social capability, and critical and creative thinking, is accompanied by a strong focus on ‘rating’ or ‘ranking’ students to facilitate competition around university admissions.’ The Review Panel calls for a national, dedicated review of senior secondary schooling focussing on three areasiii:

the kind and quality of educational experiences provided in senior secondary

whether the organisation of senior secondary education in Australia is still adequate and beneficial for the employment outlook of students

how student achievements are assessed and reported

Almost simultaneous with the release of Through Growth to Achievement was the release of a report by Ernst & Young, The University of the Futureiv. Lead author Catherine Friday said that their research indicated about 40 per cent of existing university degrees will soon be obsolete, and that traditional undergraduate and postgraduate degrees could disappear within a decadev. She called for universities to move towards a model facilitation lifelong learning, and urged them to make the shift from being faculty-focused to learner-centricvi. If the tertiary sector is built on shifting sand, there is no greater certainty in the labour market with no-one completely sure what the future of work will look like. A recent business summit heard that radical developments in automation and artificial intelligence will mean that workers will require constant upskilling and reskilling; that almost one-third

of recent graduates say they do not use the skills they gained at university in their work; and that creativity, leadership and empathy are likely to be highly sought-after skills in the future workplacevii. So, what can schools offer students to prepare them for an uncertain future? Every Independent school in the Northern Territory that provides senior secondary education answers the question in a different way, but all share a commitment to flexibility, student welfare, and openness to new and better ways to prepare students for life beyond the school gate.

THE ‘SUCCESS’ QUESTION The question of what constitutes ‘success’ in education is of course contested. This paper suggests that educational success in the Northern Territory means maximising each student’s capacity to participate in the world beyond formal secondary schooling, whether that be in further education, the workforce, and/or contributing meaningfully within their family and community. We note the thoughtful work undertaken by educationalist Dr. Sam Osborne and others examining what ‘success’ means in remote educationviii. He has stated that, “The message that identity, confidence, family connection, family language, histories and stories are critical to positioning young people for success in all aspects of life is repeated over and over across the qualitative data.”ix It is clearly imperative that the idea of what constitutes success in our schools for remote Aboriginal students is considered through the lens of Aboriginal community expectations and aspirations, not just the lens of traditional western-style education.

TIWI COLLEGE Tiwi College is a secondary boarding school on Country at Pickataramoor on Melville Island. All students are Tiwi. Tiwi College strives to balance academic and vocational endeavours, while always keeping the wellbeing of students at the forefront. The College acknowledges the cultural differences between male and female senior students, and tailors programs accordingly. The Senior Young Women’s class has an academic focus, with students aiming to complete a full 200-credit Northern Territory Certificate of Education and Training (NTCET) in a combination of Year 10, Stage 1 and Stage 2 subjects through Northern Territory School of Distance Education (NTSDE). The three-year NTCET pathway plan was introduced in 2015. By gradually building the capacity of students to complete the requirements of multiple Stage 2 subjects within a calendar year, the school is working towards students being able to complete not only a full NTCET certificate, but also to attain an ATAR (university entrance) score. The most successful year to date has been 2016 when five students completed their NTCET Year 12 Certificates with the support of

College teachers (Tiwi and non-Tiwi) and NTSDE. Significantly, all five students had been at Tiwi College since middle school, and all chose to remain at the school for an extra year of in order to complete the necessary credits. In recent years, the Senior Young Men’s class has studied NTCET specialised subjects: Stage 1 Food & Hospitality (2015); Stage 1 Workplace Practices and Stage 1 Physical Education (2016); Stage 1 Integrated Learning: Driver Education (2017). The focus is on subjects which provide formal credits while at the same time developing ‘work ready’ skills. The class also studies the NTSDE Year 10 and Stage 1 Numeracy curriculum in addition to numeracy work embedded within vocational units. In 2017-18 the students of the Senior Young Men’s class were enrolled in a SEDA Certificate II in Sport & Recreation and Certificate II in Construction Pathways through RTO Charles Darwin University. These certificates were chosen for their ability to engage the cohort and the employability skills they provide which are relevant to industries and workplaces of the Tiwi Islands. Senior Young Men and Senior Young Women have undertaken Jobskills Short Courses

including First Aid, Driver Safety, Alcohol/Drug Awareness and Basic Car Maintenance. The Senior Young Men also completed courses in small motors, outboard motors, and 4WD maintenance and recovery. Senior students undertake work experience on and off the island, with the fellas typically having work experience in Darwin and on Bathurst Island, and the young women having work experience in Darwin, Bathurst Island and Melbourne. Last year DriveSafe NT was asked to conduct a learner licence accreditation program at the college and assisted students to complete paperwork and collect identification documents. “The lack of a driver’s licence or other recognised ID is often a hurdle to achieving employment, setting up a bank account or travelling interstate or overseas,” Tiwi College Principal Stuart Ward said. “Also, young people were more likely to risk driving unlicensed if they lacked sufficient identification to apply for a driver’s licence. “These are the sort of things we do as a College to try to give our students the very best chance of success once they leave us. Any students coming up to leaving school are provided with intense case management,

including individualised information about university opportunities, support in making connections to workplaces of choice, and arranging additional work experience or study placements,” Mr Ward said.

THE ESSINGTON INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL DARWIN The Essington International School Darwin is a parent owned, non-denominational, co-educational school providing education for students at all levels from Child Care, Preschool and Early Childhood, through Primary and Middle School, to Senior Secondary. Since 2011, senior secondary students of The Essington International School Darwin have studied at the Casuarina Campus of Charles Darwin University. “This co-location provides a unique senior secondary experience and really fires up our senior students,” Principal/CEO David Cannon says. “Within six or eight weeks of starting there you can see them transform into young adults. They really step up, and I attribute a lot of this to the university environment. We also get access to university staff, and students have access to the university library which they love. Many work there after school each day.” Mr Cannon says that success in the senior years cannot occur without solid foundations in place. “If you look at our NAPLAN results over the years, the foundation is there for students by the time they reach Years 11 and 12. Our students across all tested year levels

are above the Australian schools average in all NAPLAN elements. Obviously you also require good curriculum, a culture of high expectations, high-quality teachers, an excellent management team and a good leadership team. Important is the need for a culture of high expectations, and a belief that kids can achieve at a high level. The culture feeds itself. “We believe in target setting at every level – set them, publish them, meet or exceed them. We have a data-driven school improvement model, never forgetting that the most outstanding point at which difference can be made in education is the quality of the teacher. If we have discouraging figures in an area of data, that is okay because it shows us what we need to work on,” Mr Cannon says. The Essington International School Darwin has a number of systems in place to support and extend senior secondary students. The Plus Three program asks Year 12 students to nominate the ATAR they think they will get, then the school works intensively with the student to try to exceed that ATAR by three points. The Academies of Excellence Program extends students at the top level, aiming to maximise students’ potential in English and STEM subjects. This program is run during school holidays, and accesses Charles Darwin

University's academics for STEM subjects. Local authors are engaged to conduct creative writing classes. Each week the Director of Studies sends home At Risk letters to the families or caregivers of any student who is at risk of falling behind. “When there are concerns about a student’s progress they are invited to the Homework Centre after school to address things before these become bigger issues,” Mr Cannon says. “We don’t let any student slip through and fail.” The Essington International School Darwin is a Cambridge International School accredited at primary, middle and senior levels. “We map the Australian Curriculum against the Cambridge International curriculum, and the

ihttps://www.aisnt.asn.au/uploads/pdfs/Through_Growth_Achievement_AG_2018.pdf ii Through Growth to Achievement, p.50 iii Through Growth to Achievement, p 53-55 iv http://cdn.ey.com/echannel/au/en/industries/government---public-sector/ey-university-of-the-future-2030/EY-university-of-the-future-2030.pdf v https://www.smh.com.au/education/university-degrees-obsolete-report-ernst-young-20180501-p4zcn5.html vi The University of the Future, p30

impact of this is extra emphasis in the area of Mathematics, English and Science. We can then report against both the Australian Curriculum and Cambridge International Curriculum. “I believe that success at The Essington International School Darwin means a confident student ready to pursue their dreams at a high level wherever they want to go. We try to build high expectations, focussing on what individuals are good at, bullet-proofing them for the world they are entering, helping them with their deficits and building on their strengths. Then it’s about having the confidence and competence to go for it, whatever your passion,” Mr Cannon says.

vii http://www.afr.com/brand/boss/how-we-learn-will-affect-how-we-live-not-just-how-we-work-20180322-h0xta2#ixzz5EQDRVR47 viii For example, Osborne, S. & Guenther, J. 2013. Red Dirt Thinking on Aspiration and Success. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 42, p88-99 ix Osborne, S. 2015. Families as foundation: Anangu perspectives on what else matters in remote education. UNESCO Observatory Multi-Disciplinary Journal in the Arts, Vol 4 Issue 2, p13