As the first term unravels and we journey together embracing our Core Value – ‘Year of Justice’, we must pause for a moment and discern the meaning of justice within the context of contemporary education.
What is justice in education? When students were asked recently to write a meaning for the word “justice” in relation to learning, they came up with words such as ‘fair’, ‘just’, ‘equitable’ and ‘tolerance’. In a world where disparities in education can be identified, it is important to review and reflect on our learning for diverse students and consider how we as a College can be more fair, just and equitable particularly with our highly abled students.
In saying this, the College chose to be an active participant in cutting edge research for Gifted and Talented (G&T) students also known as Highly Abled Students through a research study that is being conducted by the Catholic Education Office, South Australia in partnership with the University of NSW (UNSW). The research study is titled: Attitudes toward Gifted Students and Gifted Education.
We began to participate in the initial phase of the research study with Dr Jae Yup Jung, Director of GERRIC (Gifted Education Research, Resource Information Centre) at the UNSW late last year. By professional development of staff, implementation of a G&T key teacher focus group, an understanding and awareness of how to identify our gifted and talented students will be promoted and this will align with our Core Value of Justice in 2020.
The next phase of this research study is the completion of surveys for teachers, curriculum ESOs, parents and students so that data can be gathered by the University for recommendations, actions and goals in connection to strategic planning for both the College and the sector. Information for parents in relation to completing the parent survey and the consent form for students has been sent out. We would really appreciate your input in completing these surveys for analysis as we plan quality improvements and strive for fairness, just and equitable learning for our Highly Abled and Gifted and Talented students.
Every student at the College is a different type of flower and altogether this makes a beautiful garden within the Kildare community.
Cherrell Murray
Director of Learning Enrichment
