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EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT 2012

A Sense of Belonging: Exploring AboriginalA Sense of Belonging: Exploring AboriginalA Sense of Belonging: Exploring AboriginalA Sense of Belonging: Exploring Aboriginaland Torres Strait Islander Inclusionand Torres Strait Islander Inclusionand Torres Strait Islander Inclusionand Torres Strait Islander Inclusion

PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT COORDINATOR QUEENSLAND

An Action Research Project exploring the inclusion of Aboriginal and TorresStrait Islander families and children into education and care services across thestate. Deepening understandings and providing a sense of belonging. Linkingwith the current National Quality Standards and approved frameworks tounpack the cultural competency and cultural integrity of the sector. By providinga platform for critical reflection for educators, leaders, and services in their role

within their community.

The project will also allow participants to explore cultural competence ideologyin relation to their community and early childhood care and educationprofession. The project aims to build the capacity of knowledge and inclusion ofAboriginal & Torres Strait Islander perspectives that can be weaved throughevery day practice.

LEARN TO LEARN THROUGH PARTICIPATING IN A COLLABORATIVE

JOURNEY WHILE EXPLORING A TOPIC OF INTEREST IN YOUR SERVICE

DURING YOUR WORKING DAY IN RELATION TO ABORIGINAL AND TORRES

STRAIT ISLANDER INCLUSION.

Explore & apply the process of an Action Research & Learning model tosupport positive change in the early years environment.

Developing capacity to understand, respect and honour multiple ways ofknowing, seeing and living by learning from Indigenous Australians.

To develop and share meaningful ways to include Aboriginal &Torres StraitIslander perspectives into our settings.

Investigate pedagogical leadership in relation to cultural competence &

integrity.

To build capacity and insights relevant toyour context, and articulate knowledgegained regarding Australias first nationpeople.

Reflect on personal & professionallearning journeys in a safe respectful space.

Explore digital technologies as a creativeway of documenting your story

APPLICATIONS CLOSE FRIDAY 4TH MAY 2012

USE THIS FORM ONLY

The Professional Support Coordinator is an initiative funded by the Australian Government under the I nclusion and Professional Support Program.Feedback and queries should initial ly be directed to the Professional Support Coordinator in your state. Further information can be sought by contacting

the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.


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WHATS IN IT FOR ME?

Action Research provides services with an opportunity to:

gain knowledge

discover solutions

gain experience

explore language

develop practical ideas to implement within services

become more aware of the changes occurring in the childrensservices sector and

develop management skills to facilitate change

Being involved in this action research project will allow you andyour service the opportunity to follow through and critically reflecton your practice while making connections with otherprofessionals within the state.

As the project continues for a number of months you have the opportunity to network, meet likeminded people, collaborate, mentor, share ideas and also to follow through and reflect on anentire learning cycle.

PSCQ will support you through this process by

providing a facilitator and a mentor to support you through the action research process

Participants are guided through action research phases (see below) using a cyclical process ofthink- do think (MacNaughton and Hughes (2009: 1) with the goal of creating positive changethrough collaboration within their services and improved outcomes for children, families and staff.

All you have to do is ensure that two staff (including one leader) from your service attend these 9professional development opportunities throughout the year.

The ACECQA Board has decided that the overarching criterion for an Excellent rating

assessment is that:

A service demonstrates excellent practice and sector leadership.A service demonstrates excellent practice and sector leadership.A service demonstrates excellent practice and sector leadership.A service demonstrates excellent practice and sector leadership.

Under the Education and Care Services National Law Act 2010, ACECQA is responsible for assessingapplications for the Excellent rating. There are several criteria that services need to demonstrate toachieve an Excellent rating; participating in an action research project is part of Draft Criterion 2.

Excellent practice and sector leadership requires evidence of how both the services process andstructural components intersect to produce improved outcomes for children. The service must be able todemonstrate that its procedures and structural components are above and beyond the operation of aservice at the Exceeding National Quality Standard level and that they have achieved improved

outcomes for participating children.

http://acecqa.gov.au/storage/Excellent%20rating%20criteria%20final%20draft%2019%http://acecqa.gov.au/storage/Excellent%20rating%20criteria%20final%20draft%2019%http://acecqa.gov.au/storage/Excellent%20rating%20criteria%20final%20draft%2019%http://acecqa.gov.au/storage/Excellent%20rating%20criteria%20final%20draft%2019%20December.pdf20December.pdf20December.pdf20December.pdf


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WHAT IS ACTION RESEARCH?

According to MacNaughton and Hughes (2009: 5), action research begins with hopes, dreams anddesires: the hope that we can change the world for the better, the dream of a better world and the

desire to make a difference.

1.1.1.1. First of all you have to choose something that you would like to change and then you have tochoose to change it. This is where you ask a question that you might want to explore.

2.2.2.2. Next you have to make a plan about how you mightchange it:

you need to plan how and where you will find someanswers, get more information and think about theprocess of information gathering might impact on the

people around you (thinking about ethics) gather some data

try some of your ideas

you will need to reflect and critically reflect on theinformation you have gathered and your own thoughtsand ideas

you will need to make a plan about how practical yourideas are will they work in your setting?

You will need to make sure that you are keeping the

research real

3.3.3.3. Now its time to go about creating the change, youmight:

observe and document what happened when you triedyour ideas

reflect and critically reflect on the information

4.4.4.4. By now you have been on a journey with your service,community friends and colleagues, so it is time to:

draw conclusions from the data you have gathered

share the lessons with colleagues so that other can alsolearn from your experiences

5.5.5.5. Finally you choose a new topic and start again!

Please read on to find out why action research is aneffective professional support method


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BACKGROUND

Childrens services educators have been involved in a number

of different types of collaborative action research projectsaround the world and throughout Australia. Action researchprojects involve individuals and groups collaborativelyinquiring into a topic or idea that they would like to createchange about (Wait & Davis, 2006; Borgia & Schuler, 1998).Through collaboration with other participants and the worksetting, practitioner researchers have the opportunity to think deeply about a topic that they areinterested in and one that is relevant to both their setting and their colleagues (MacNaughton &Hughes, 2009; Ferguson & Coubrough, 2002).

Research conducted in 2008 (Waniganayake et al) identified that directors, managers andcoordinators perceived professional development as a process which is associated with bothersonal and professional growth. Participating in an action research project fits with both of theseperceptions as participants have the opportunity to acquire new skills and knowledge, learn abouttheir own learning process, listen to the perspectives of others around them, challenge their ownideas and pay specific attention to the social and cultural influences of learning and the constructionof knowledge (Borgia & Schuler, 1998; Ferguson & Coubrough, 2002; MacNaughton & Hughes,2009; Wait & Davis, 2006). Another benefit of action research is that the process is ongoing and theprinciples can be used in a variety of other settings as it may set the foundations for practiceimprovement through continual learning and progressive problem solving (Wandsworth, 1998).Through being involved in action research, practitioners develop a deeper understanding of learning

process and consequently their role in the education lives of children (Borgia & Schuler, 1998).

Research also demonstrates that when professional development meets the needs of individualpractitioners and the centres overall goals, participants are more likely to develop a sense ownershipas they observe changes in practice and consequently learning communities are established(Waniganayake et al, 2008). Action research supports wider learning throughout a service and thewider community, this in turn allows those involved to develop a sense of ownership as the researchtopic and process is grounded in a specific service and tied to the relationships between people andthe topic in a service and/or community.

Participating in action research may also heighten the public recognition of the role of practitioners

in childrens services as participants involved in action research projects are increasingly recognisedas knowledge generators and researchers in their roles (Borgia & Schuler, 1998).

References:References:References:References:

Borgia, E. & Schuler, D. (1998) Action Research in Early Childhood. Scholastic Early Childhood Today. 12 (8) 49-51.

Ferguson, P. & Susan Coubrough. (2002). How can we help classroom teachers produce research from their practice? Higher Education Research and DevelopmentSociety of Australiasia Conference 2002. Retrieved from HERDSA Web site: http://www.herdsa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/conference/2002/papers/Bruce-Ferguson.pdf

MacNaughton, G. & Hughes, P. (1999) Doing Action Research in Early Childhood Studies. Berkshire: McGraw-Hill Education, Open University Press.

Wadsworth, Y. (1998) What is Participatory Action Research?Retrieved January 5, 2009, from http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/gcm/ar/ari/p-ywadsworth98.html

Waite, S. & Davis, B. (2006) Collaboration as a catalyst for critical thinking in undergraduate research. Journal of Further and higher Education. 40 (4) 405-410)

Waniganayake, M., Cheeseman, S., Gioia, K., Harrison, L., Burgess, C. & Press, F. (2008) Practice Potentials: Impact of Participation in Professional Developmentand Support on Quality Outcomes for Children in Childcare Centres. Retrieved January 5 from http://www.pscq.org.au/PDFs/General%20Site%20Docs/PSCAResearch-FinaleditedReportJan09.pdf


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WHAT DO I HAVE TO BE INVOLVED IN?

The PSCQ action research model requires services to participate by ensuring that minimum of two staff

participate in the action research and that one of these staff is the leader of the service. Participants willbe involved by:

1. Attending Action Research Group days as facilitated by your Action research group facilitator

9 action research group days over 6 months.

18thJune 2012

19th June 2012

16th July 2012

30thJuly 2012

27th August 2012

17thSeptember 2012

15th October 2012

12thNovember 2012

26th November 2012

2. Continuing the learning process

Carrying out planned research and action activities between the action research sessions

(these may be as simple as typing your topic into the Google search engine!)

Contacting the mentor for support when you need to.

Participants will be guided to document their action research journey

3. Developing a community of learners

To share the process with colleagues and develop a community of learners within your own

settings

Linking to a group site to share ides, experiences and practice in relation to your topic.

4. Sharing the lessons

This involves sharing your learning journey with others during the 6 month action research

process

These are facilitated with the facilitator/mentor to present your learning journey within yourservice region.

They are open to the whole sector in your region

5. Document your learning journey

Explore innovative and contemporary ways of sharing your

story through digital technology.

Learn to document your journey through visual imagery,

music and creative practices

Work with the facilitator/mentor to develop your skills


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HOW WILL PSCQ SUPPORT US?

Financial support (in the way of travel and accommodation

reimbursement) will be provided for those services who haveto travel more than 100km round trip in order to participatein the Action research project in Brisbane as per PSCQstravel policy available www.workforce.org.au

please note this financial support will only be available perservice not per individual and participants will bereimbursed for travel and accommodation costs incurred toattend the action learning days.

You are not alone - Each action research group will besupported by a mentor and facilitator throughout the process. The mentor will support servicesbetween the large actionresearch group days. The mentor will talk to you about your ideas and find extra information ifyou need it.

The facilitator/mentor will facilitate the Action Research projectin which all educators-researchers come together this provides an opportunity and space foreducators-researchers to analyse their work, to share their work and engage in furtherinvestigation with the support of the facilitator/mentor.

The facilitator/mentor will assist with research and talk about your topics the facilitator will helpyou stay on track and sometimes ask questions that make you think.

The facilitator/mentor will provide opportunities using different technologies to support learningi.e. group sites, tele-linkups, video link ups, Skype

WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?

Target childrens services in Queensland.(Child care services receiving CCB areconsidered target.)

ELIGIBILITY

For the purposes of the Action Research Project, childrensservices must both:

Be considered a targettargettargettarget service by PSCQ.

Have a current, financial membership with PSCQ

Applications will only be considered from target services and from those who have NOT participatedin any other Action Research Project or Yarn Up - Tokbloyumi Action Learning Projects.

"At first I thought Action"At first I thought Action"At first I thought Action"At first I thought ActionResearch was for academicsResearch was for academicsResearch was for academicsResearch was for academics

but then I realised it's forbut then I realised it's forbut then I realised it's forbut then I realised it's foreveryone!"everyone!"everyone!"everyone!"

I feel moreI feel moreI feel moreI feel moreAustralian.Australian.Australian.Australian.

Just do it!Just do it!Just do it!Just do it!


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WHAT PSCQ REQUIRES FROM SERVICES

Criteria for participation:Criteria for participation:Criteria for participation:Criteria for participation:

1. A service commits to ensuring that the same 2 attendees /educators attend the 9 compulsory action research dayswhich are whole day workshops facilitated by an external consultant.

2. Services must commit to bringing the whole service including families along the action research process throughmaking efforts to involve and inspire their childrens services community along the way.

3. Services commit to identifying and inducting a new research participant if either of the initial research participantsshould leave the service before the 6 month action research project is complete.

4. Participants must be willing to be part of a community of learners

5. Commit to meaningful contributions and communication with the group, facilitator and the mentor.

6. Present your learning journey alongside the facilitator/mentor within your service region.

The Signing Authority is responsible for all accountability requirements of the project. These can be found in the termsand conditions please read these below:

Service participation terms and conditions:Service participation terms and conditions:Service participation terms and conditions:Service participation terms and conditions:

1. The service commits to ensuring the Educational Leader/Director/Coordinator of the service attends 9 compulsory days throughout the ac-tion research project.

2. The service commits to ensuring that the second staff member at-tends 9 compulsory days throughout the action research project.

3. In the event that one out of the two staff members cannot attend for

any of the reasons listed below the service commits to informing the facili-tator/mentor as soon as possible

4. A service commits to identifying and inducting a new staff memberinto the action research project if the current action research participantshould leave the organization.

5. The service agrees that any documentation can be accessed byPSCQ for the purpose of developing resources to support the all earlychildhood educators.

6. The Service agrees to participate in an evaluation at the end actionresearch project and contribute to the evaluations at the end of each ac-tion research group session.

7. Reasons for not attending may impact on the application for Centreof Excellence:

Unexpected Validation or licensing visit Illness of individuals who are directly involved in the action researchprocess (not other staff being ill) Unavoidable emergency situation at a service

If the Signing Authority of the service changesIf the Signing Authority of the service changesIf the Signing Authority of the service changesIf the Signing Authority of the service changes after the submission of the application and before Action Research Projecthas begun, PSCQ must be notified in writing.PSCQ must be notified in writing.PSCQ must be notified in writing.PSCQ must be notified in writing.

Successful applicants will be notified by email no later than 10 days after the closing date which is Friday 4th MayFriday 4th MayFriday 4th MayFriday 4th May forapplications. ALLALLALLALL applications are considered pending until they have been formally approved in writing.

All email enquiries to:All email enquiries to:All email enquiries to:All email enquiries to: [email protected]@[email protected]@workforce.org.au


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EXPRESSION OF INTEREEXPRESSION OF INTEREEXPRESSION OF INTEREEXPRESSION OF INTEREST AND CONTRACT FORST AND CONTRACT FORST AND CONTRACT FORST AND CONTRACT FOR THE PSCQTHE PSCQTHE PSCQTHE PSCQ

ACTION RESEARCH PROJECTACTION RESEARCH PROJECTACTION RESEARCH PROJECTACTION RESEARCH PROJECT

Service NameService NameService NameService Name

Contact Person NameContact Person NameContact Person NameContact Person Name

Postal AddressPostal AddressPostal AddressPostal Address

SuburbSuburbSuburbSuburb

Post CodePost CodePost CodePost Code

Telephone NumberTelephone NumberTelephone NumberTelephone Number

( 0 7 )( 0 7 )( 0 7 )( 0 7 )

Facsimile NumberFacsimile NumberFacsimile NumberFacsimile Number

( 0 7 )( 0 7 )( 0 7 )( 0 7 )

EEEE----mail Addressmail Addressmail Addressmail Address

EligibilityEligibilityEligibilityEligibility

Is your service a targettargettargettarget service? (Circle Answer) YESYESYESYES NONONONO

NOTE: Target Services are those receiving Child Care BenefitNOTE: Target Services are those receiving Child Care BenefitNOTE: Target Services are those receiving Child Care BenefitNOTE: Target Services are those receiving Child Care Benefit

Is your service a current member of PSCQ? (Circle Answer) YESYESYESYES NONONONO

PSCQ Membership NumberPSCQ Membership NumberPSCQ Membership NumberPSCQ Membership Number

PSCQ regionPSCQ regionPSCQ regionPSCQ region (Circle answer)

Brisbane North (1N)Brisbane North (1N)Brisbane North (1N)Brisbane North (1N) South West Darling Downs (7)South West Darling Downs (7)South West Darling Downs (7)South West Darling Downs (7)

Brisbane South (1S)Brisbane South (1S)Brisbane South (1S)Brisbane South (1S) Wide Bay Burnett (8)Wide Bay Burnett (8)Wide Bay Burnett (8)Wide Bay Burnett (8)

Gold Coast (2)Gold Coast (2)Gold Coast (2)Gold Coast (2) Central West Fitzroy (9)Central West Fitzroy (9)Central West Fitzroy (9)Central West Fitzroy (9)

Logan Redlands (3)Logan Redlands (3)Logan Redlands (3)Logan Redlands (3) Mackay (10)Mackay (10)Mackay (10)Mackay (10)

Ipswich (4)Ipswich (4)Ipswich (4)Ipswich (4) North Queensland (11)North Queensland (11)North Queensland (11)North Queensland (11)

Moreton Bay (5)Moreton Bay (5)Moreton Bay (5)Moreton Bay (5) North West Queensland (12)North West Queensland (12)North West Queensland (12)North West Queensland (12)

Sunshine Coast (6)Sunshine Coast (6)Sunshine Coast (6)Sunshine Coast (6) Far North Queensland (13)Far North Queensland (13)Far North Queensland (13)Far North Queensland (13)

Do you have any dietary, disability or other requirements?Do you have any dietary, disability or other requirements?Do you have any dietary, disability or other requirements?Do you have any dietary, disability or other requirements?

(this information assists with planning meetings and activities)


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What excites you about this project?

What do you see as the main challenge for your services participation and

what is your plan for overcoming this?




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Signing AuthoritySigning AuthoritySigning AuthoritySigning Authority

I, _______________________________________, as Signing Authority of the above-

mentioned, have read, understood and agree to the terms and conditions of the funding for

participation in the action research project. I verify the information relating to the eligibility

of the service and the information listed in this application.

Signature: Sign hereSign hereSign hereSign here

Date:

Participant 1Participant 1Participant 1Participant 1

I, _______________________________________, as Director/Coordinator of the above-

mentioned, have read and understood the terms and conditions of the funding and agree

that I would like to personally participate in PSCQs action research project as arepresentative of my organisation.


Date:

Participant 2Participant 2Participant 2Participant 2

I, _______________________________________, as an employee of the above-mentioned,

have read and understood the terms and conditions of the funding and agree that I would

like to personally participate in PSCQs action research project as a representative of my

organisation.


Date:

Role: Director / Coordinator

Name:

Name:

Role:



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