Abstract
In response to the South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) Board‟s
introduction in 2010 of the new Research Project subject, the University of South
Australia‟s Centre for Participation and Community Engagement took the
opportunity to engage further with school students by organising the Research
Ready Program. The adoption of the program for local Year 11 government high
school students by the University‟s Centre for Regional Engagement at Whyalla is
the focus of this paper. The program, consisting of seven sessions spread across
two school terms aimed to assist students identify a research topic and develop
their research project, learn about the research process, support professional
development of school staff and enhance school students‟ aspirations and pathways to university.
The paper explores the learning that transpired in order to meet the educational
needs of high school students embarking on this new subject and discusses the
reflections of participating university academic staff and school teachers.
Questionnaire responses by participating students showed that they rated the
program as „good‟ to „excellent‟ and believed that it would help them to complete their research projects successfully. The impact of the program on students' aspirations to pursue university studies, and the implications for a regional university campus and its community, are also examined.
introduction in 2010 of the new Research Project subject, the University of South
Australia‟s Centre for Participation and Community Engagement took the
opportunity to engage further with school students by organising the Research
Ready Program. The adoption of the program for local Year 11 government high
school students by the University‟s Centre for Regional Engagement at Whyalla is
the focus of this paper. The program, consisting of seven sessions spread across
two school terms aimed to assist students identify a research topic and develop
their research project, learn about the research process, support professional
development of school staff and enhance school students‟ aspirations and pathways to university.
The paper explores the learning that transpired in order to meet the educational
needs of high school students embarking on this new subject and discusses the
reflections of participating university academic staff and school teachers.
Questionnaire responses by participating students showed that they rated the
program as „good‟ to „excellent‟ and believed that it would help them to complete their research projects successfully. The impact of the program on students' aspirations to pursue university studies, and the implications for a regional university campus and its community, are also examined.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 73-84 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Australian and International Journal of Rural Education |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Publication status | Published - 2012 |
| Externally published | Yes |