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High school students will be able to have a real say in future
education policies in a world-first scheme launched in Adelaide
today.
The "Students as Researchers" program, launched
by Education Minister Malcolm Buckby at the Helping Hand Aged
Care this morning, has been run as a trial program since 1997.
So far more than 200 high school students - including some
from this school - have taken part in the project by interviewing
fellow students who left school early. This and future research
will be used to improve the choices students have about subjects. |
Photo: The Minister of Education,
Malcolm Buckby, being interviewed by student reporter at launch
of the Students-as-Researchers Handbook at Parafield Gardens
Helping Hand on - Tuesday 7 March 2000. |
Minister Buckby described the program as being "on the
leading edge of research", adding that report author Jan
Edwards had been invited to deliver a paper on the project in
New Orleans.
"It's also just another example of how students are no
longer confined to the classroom," Mr Buckby told the launch.
"It will mature our students even more in terms of having
them get out and do research."
Ms Edwards said the initial project had gone "extremely
well".
"I was particularly impressed with students that had
written articles," she said.
"There were over 80 articles by students of high quality."
The Students as Researchers idea came out of a research project
put together by Flinders Institute for the Study of Teaching,
SSABSA and the Department of Education, Training and Employment
to investigate early school leaving in South Australia four years
ago.
Mr Ron Hattam, from the Flinders Institute for the Study of
Teaching, said the research project had "four strands"
to it.
"One was checking out the data bases, the second and
most important strand was actually interviewing 200 young people
extensively, the third was having a Students as Researchers stand
where we had young people doing reseach in schools into why their
friends were leaving early, and the fourth strand was a longitudinal
strand where we interview some students at least one more time
a year after the first time," he said.
"The five schools that did it I think really got a lot
out of it." Students from schools incluing Parafield Gardens
High also received points for their SACE (South AUstralian Certificate
of Education).
"We wanted young people to be involved in doing some
research for us but given the sort of hectic lives of school
students we couldn't see that it was possible unless it was actually
done within an existing SACE unit," he said.
The president of the State Schools Students Association, Mitcham
Girls High School student Candice Butler, told the launch the
project would "help develop life skills."
"This will help students to reach their full potential,"
she said.
If you would like to see the photos our student photographer
Kendelle Levi took of the launch, visit Students-as-Researchers
Launch. |
