Scotch College

Educational research

Although the teaching staff always seem to be flat our in their various roles Mr Warwick Barry and Ms Mary Macmillan have each had an additional role over the last twelve months.

Scotch is very anxious to promote educational research which can build a bridge between educational theory and practice and Mr Barry and Ms Macmillan have attempted to do just that.

Mr Barry investigated the reading habits and preferences of boys in the Senior School. The findings have considerable relevance to the promotion of reading within the school, and to the way in which English and other courses take account of students' abilities and habits.

More recently Ms Macmillan presented a paper to the staff at the start of Term 3 reporting on her work to identify fundamental unifying skills which lie at the heart of the junior secondary curriculum. Promoting 'non-subject-specific' skills such as organizational, communication, teamwork and broad thinking strategies is never easy. Mary's work has allowed us to specify goals in these areas which are desirable, realistic and measurable.

Director of Educational Research Dr Sydney Boydell is delighted at what has been achieved to date. 'We need to draw more on the wide ranging skills and abilities of the teaching staff if we are to become a more relevant and flexible provider of quality education' he said.