Our Schools....Our Future

Thursday 15 November 2007 at The University of Melbourne

The Melbourne Institute and The Australian newspaper held a major one day conference on Our Schools…. Our Future.

Our schools need to be vital, relevant and effective in forming young minds, developing the skills of our young people and equipping them to play a full and active role in the economic and social life of our country. The success of our schools is vital to our future. This is well accepted and reflected in the national goals of schooling adopted by all governments of Australia in 1999. This conference will bring together the latest evidence about how well our schools are performing, how to improve their performance when necessary and how to ensure that the needs of all students are addressed so that all have the opportunity to successfully complete year 12 or its vocational equivalent.

Program and presentations can be accessed here

Issues adddressed included:

• The purposes of education
• National goals of schooling
• What determines school performance?
• Making a difference in difficult circumstances
• What makes a good teacher in the 21 st century?
• Preparing good teachers

Speakers Included:

Federal Minister and Shadow Minister for Education and Victorian State Minister

• The Hon Julie Bishop MP, Minister for Education, Science and Training
• The Hon Stephen Smith MP, Shadow Minister for Education
• The Hon Bronwyn Pike MP, Victorian Minister for Education

Leading Australian Researchers and Consultants

• Professor Glyn Davis AC, Vice-Chancellor, The University of Melbourne
• Proessor Peter Dawkins, Secretary, Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
• Dr Wendy Jarvie, Deputy Secretary, Department of Education, Science and Training
• Professor Barry McGaw, Director, Melbourne Education Research Institute
• Emeritus Professor Kwong Lee Dow, Director, Teaching Australia
• Professor Bill Louden, Head of School, Graduate School of Education, The University of Western Australia
• Mr Greg Whitby, Executive Director, Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Parramatta
• Associate Professor Christine Ure, Associate Dean, Teacher Education, Faculty of Education, The University of Melbourne
• Professor Gerald Burke, Director, Executive Director, ACER Centre for the Economics of Education and Training, Monash University
• Dr Chris Sarra, Director, Indigenous Education Learning Institute, Queensland University of Technology
• Dr Chris Ryan, Director, Social Policy Evaluation, Analysis and Research Centre, RSSS at the Australian National University
• Ms Linda Lorenza, Head of Education, Bell Shakespeare Company
• Ms Jennifer Buckhingham, Research Fellow, The Centre for Independent Studies
• Dr Kevin Donnelly, Executive Director, Education Strategies
• Mr Stephen Elder, Director, Catholic Education Office, Archdiocese of Melbourne
• Dr Tom Karmel, Managing Director, National Council for Vocational Education Research
• Mrs Sheree Vertigan, Principal, Reece High School, Tasmania
• Mr Stephen Elder, Director of Catholic Education, Catholic Education Office, Archdiocese of Melbourne
• Mr Patrick Coleman, Director Policy, Business Council of Australia

Conference Enquiries

Our Schools….Our Future
Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research
Level 7, 161 Barry Street
The University of Melbourne
Victoria 3010

Ph: +61 3 8344 2151
Fax: +61 3 8344 2111
Email: melb-conf@unimelb.edu.au