Featured Blogs and Messages

Leading with Grace, Navigating Professional set-backs

By Fiona Hutton posted 05-11-2024
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Leading with Grace, Navigating Professional set-backs In the competitive world of senior education roles, experiencing unsuccessful applications or facing job loss is a reality that unfortunately, many educational leaders must confront. As the Managing Director of an Australian educational consultancy, with many years of experience in placing principals and senior leaders across Australia, I've observed numerous ways candidates respond to feedback or as part of a performance management process. Facing rejection is a difficult process, however, unfortunately, not all responses are constructive. In this article, I'd like to share some insights on how ...
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The Unchanging Truth: Good Teaching Transcends Policy

By Kirsten Macaulay posted 04-10-2024
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The Unchanging Truth: Good Teaching Transcends Policy As we reflect on the ever-changing landscape of education in New South Wales, it’s crucial to remember that whilst policies may ebb and flow, the heart of our profession remains steadfast: good teaching positively impacts students. In recent years, we've witnessed a flurry of educational reforms and initiatives sweep across our state. From curriculum overhauls, assessment modifications to directives to teach explicitly, we could succumb to overwhelm by the constant flux. However, amidst this sea of change, we must not lose sight of what matters—the privilege we have of shaping young minds that ...
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Message from the President, Term 3 2024

By Briony Scott posted 06-09-2024
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Welcome to the third issue of AEL for 2024, where we look at a future beyond boundaries, for our students, families, and profession. “Boundaries” is a common word in our vernacular to describe the edge or end of one space or concept and the beginning of another. It is the main prop in science fiction tales, where the protagonist enters unknown worlds, and dangers loom from within every shadow! New frontiers are claimed, new ground is explored, and new lands discovered. For those who are brave enough to leap into the unknown, and clever enough to survive, boundaries are what stand between us and grand adventures! There is another perspective we can ...
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Message from the CEO, Term 3 2024

By Barbara Watterston posted 06-09-2024
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In reflecting on our theme of a future beyond boundaries, we know this is not an either/or proposition constrained by polarities. As we acknowledge and celebrate our 2024 peer nominated ACEL National Awardees and New Voice Scholars, we see in our incredible colleagues where boundaries are not barriers to influence and impact; they are safe places to support, flourish, and grow. We can see in our branch activities where opportunities are underscored by a manifesto to inspire and engage teachers and leaders taking pride in being members of our profession; where relationships extend well beyond the confines of the school grounds; where separation between work life ...
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VIC Branch News: September 2024

By Annette Rome posted 03-09-2024
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Do you want to be a Principal? When asked if people want to be a principal, the answer is often either a flat out ‘no’ or ‘not sure’ and rarely does the question receive a resoundingly positive response. Curiously, a fourth cohort exists, believing they should already be a principal (often stating they could do a better job than their current principal). The reality is that principal preparation is a body of knowledge and work that needs to be explored so that one can make an informed decision either way. Often perceptions of principal work can be focussed on the conferences, the lunches, the opportunities, the faithful and devoted EA at one’s beck and call ...
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Middle Leaders in Schools

By David Gurr posted 28-08-2024
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Middle Leaders in Schools I have been emersed in thinking about middle leaders in schools recently. In August, the Educational Leadership group at the Faculty of Education (University of Melbourne) hosted a two-day workshop that brought together many of the major Australasian researchers focussed on middle leaders. During this meeting we discussed the recently launched AITSL (2024) professional standards for middle leaders, and three important new survey instruments focussed on middle leaders. At the workshop we considered all of these as they provide clarity for educators and researchers about the work of middle leaders. Brief descriptions of these follow ...
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How professionals work and learn in digitalised work contexts

By Sue Bryen posted 31-07-2024
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How professionals work and learn in digitalised work contexts Technology is increasingly shaping the way educators carry out their day-to-day work, but the extent to which technology is shaping how educators work and learn is not yet fully understood. The Australian Research Council (ARC) began a research project in 2022 to investigate how Education and Health professionals in Australia learn as they work in increasingly digitalised work contexts. (Agostinho, S., et al., 2024) ACEL was one of the partner organisations that developed and distributed the survey to its members between August and November 2022. Phase 1 of this discovery project has now been ...
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ACEL Inclusion and Disability Conference

By Charlotte Forwood posted 02-07-2024
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A visit to specialist school, Henbury School, prior to the ACEL Inclusion and Disability Conference in Darwin in May, provided a glimpse of what inspirational leadership can achieve, especially for those with a disability. I met with two of the school’s Northern Territory Learning Commissioners, Aidan and Hannah who proudly explained the role and its impact on them and their school. Student leadership was seeded in the NT with the NT Learning Commission set up to provide students with a vehicle for student voice and agency. I later heard Hannah speak with confidence and conviction at the conference in her role as one of the 18 students in the NT Peak Voice ...
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Adam Voigt joins the ACEL Board

By Briony Scott posted 25-06-2024
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The ACEL Board has the option to appoint up to 4 Members as Independent Directors. Independent Directors have specific skills, capabilities and/or experience that the Board believes are appropriate for the Board in terms of diversity and representation, and which complement the Branch Appointed Directors. As a passionate advocate for teachers and school leaders who has become renowned education leader and expert, please join me in congratulating Adam Voigt who has been elected as an ACEL Independent Director. Adam’s career in schools spans more than three decades as a teacher, principal, system leader and organizational leader. His work as a ‘coalface’ ...
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Message from the President, Term 2 2024

By Briony Scott posted 06-06-2024
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Welcome to the second issue of AEL for 2024. We’ve embarked on a year that has been both inspiring and demanding, with education taking centre stage at both state and national levels. The landscape is rife with challenges, from issues of equity and equality, funding, global testing, to the integration of AI and rapid technological changes, managing societal expectations, and the task of adapting and implementing curriculum reforms. By any criteria, learning communities are complex ecosystems. In his book The Checklist Manifesto , Atul Gawande, an American surgeon and writer, states, “The volume and complexity of what we know has exceeded our ability ...
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Message from the CEO, Term 2 2024

By Barbara Watterston posted 06-06-2024
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Together is better. Education is a team sport. Schools and learning organisations in any context, anywhere, know that creating the enabling conditions for teams to thrive impacts positively on performance and outcomes. No matter where you sit in an education ecosystem, highly effective teams nourish our intrinsic motivation to perform at our best, and go the extra mile as we work on something that is collectively important, valued, and meaningful to all of us. At ACEL we see this at national board level where diverse perspectives and incredible experience and expertise are brought to bear to lead an organisation with deep responsibility and thoughtful action; ...
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The Crucial Role of Educational Leadership in Navigating Curriculum Change

By Lauren Sayer posted 04-06-2024
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The Crucial Role of Educational Leadership in Navigating Curriculum Change Education is always evolving, and right now, we're experiencing significant evolution with the Victorian Curriculum F–10 Version 2.0 poised for full release and the Australian Curriculum Version 9 still being implemented across states and territories. These updates are crucial to keep our educational standards relevant and effective. Strong leadership, guided by a whole school vision and robust change management strategies, is essential for making these changes successful. Victorian Curriculum F–10 Version 2.0: What's New? The Victorian Curriculum F–10 Version 2.0 aims ...
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Raw Marks, Raw Wounds

By Simon Crook posted 04-06-2024
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Raw Marks, Raw Wounds A couple of years ago I wrote two articles ( 2021 , 2022 ) regarding the flaw of measuring systems, schools, teachers and students by their number of Band 6s, since Band 6s are not created equally between subjects. I think it is incumbent upon us as school leaders to ensure that all within our communities, including colleague leaders, are familiar with the arguments. As I describe below, not only is comparing numbers of Band 6s completely flawed, it is also detrimental to students making informed choices when choosing subjects for Year 11, or dropping units from Year 11 to Year 12, and can be devastating to student and teacher self-efficacy ...
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ACEL National Awards and New Voice Scholarships 2024 – nominations now open!

By Barbara Watterston posted 21-03-2024
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National Awards We are delighted to open our call for ACEL’s prestigious peer-nominated National Awards, proudly recognising the education profession for the 39th year. Nominations are welcomed from all members of the education community, both ACEL members and non-members. This year we have further streamlined the nomination process to assist you in making nominations. ACEL National Awards are awarded in the following categories: Gold Medal Award The ACEL Gold Medal is the most prestigious honour awarded by ACEL and is presented to an Australian educator whose influence and contribution to the study and practice of educational leadership is assessed ...
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The Power of Emotional Connection

By Ray Boyd posted 05-03-2024
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The Power of Emotional Connection Schools, by their very nature, involve interacting with people. Therefore, if you don’t like people, then a school is not an environment that you should choose to work in, given the level of interactions that occur every day. Interactions occur between colleagues, teachers and parents, and teachers and students. They vary from simple interactions, such as a greeting, through to more complex interactions around teaching and learning. What makes these interactions complex however is that they are all, in most cases, connected to emotions. It is our emotions that then guide us towards either an attraction or aversion to something ...
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Balancing student choice with collective knowledge

By Ashley Pratt posted 04-03-2024
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We live in an era of opinion, an age of ‘alternative facts’ and ‘fake news’. There are a variety of causes for this current reality, and not all of them are related to schools and the curriculum. Still, we should not be blind to schools' critical role in preparing students to be active and engaged citizens in our democratic society. This challenge underscores the pivotal role of schools and curriculum in anchoring our civic discourse within a framework of collectively accepted realities. As we navigate the age of opinion, I am reminded of Michael Young's work on ‘Powerful Knowledge’. Young's research advocates for a curriculum that transcends the immediacy ...
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Message from the President, Term 1 2024

By Briony Scott posted 29-02-2024
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As we begin a new year, there is a sense of renewal and excitement of the possibilities ahead. We work in different branches of education, but the demands, professionally and personally, are demands we have in common. Education is a profession that recognises the need to refuel, restore, and rejuvenate so that growth can happen year to year. For us to thrive, we must honour the ebb and flow. It is a profession that relies on knowing that if you invest in the lives of the young and old, you must invest and take care of yourself. You cannot give what you do not have. It takes time to sit at the feet of experienced people, listen to their words of wisdom, and plant ...
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Message from the CEO, Term 1 2024

By Barbara Watterston posted 29-02-2024
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The excitement and tapestry of possibilities for what the 2024 school year might look like creates a canvas for new beginnings. We are in a moment in time marked by significant global and local challenges and complexities that require all of us who are educators to respond steadily, creatively, and in ways that nourish the human spirit. The theme of reimagining introduced in this first edition of AEL will build throughout the year culminating in our national conference: Reimagining Education: A Future Beyond Boundaries for schooling, educational leadership, our profession, our future. A timely reminder to put Adelaide 30 September – 2 October in your diaries ...
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Message from the CEO, Term 4 2023

By Barbara Watterston posted 29-02-2024
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As our 50th Anniversary draws to a close, it has been an honour to be part of a community of pioneers as well as nextgeners, all contributing vibrantly to conversations, provocations, and celebration! The inspirational history shared through Patron Frank Crowther’s Commemorative Monograph showcased ACEA/ACEL as a deeply human organisation: “it’s in our DNA.” In the monograph I was taken by the vision of the pioneering presidents, with their emphasis on personalised dialogue in addressing key challenges of the day and engaging in professional learning by choice and not imposition. Their message continues to be central to ACEL’s mission and vision, energising ...
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Message from the President, Term 4 2023

By Briony Scott posted 29-02-2024
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Welcome to the final edition of AEL for 2023 – our final nod to our golden jubilee - 50 years since the founding of ACEL. As a result, our focus this year has been on honouring the past, acknowledging and giving thanks for the present, and looking to the future. Fifty years pales into insignificance compared to our country’s Indigenous history. Our first teachers, our first educators, and our first storytellers have set the direction and the tone for our nation – the wisdom around “two-way learning,” listening before speaking, and slowing down to engage in the complexity inherent in any community. Taking the time to honour those who have gone before, and ...
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