Values in Action Schools Project First Briefing Session

The first briefing session for the Values in Action Schools Project (VASP) was held on 10 December 2008 at the Oaks on Market Hotel in Melbourne.

Participants included two representatives from each of the 14 school clusters, university advisor (UA) colleagues from seven universities across Australia, eight State and Territory Values Education contact officers, Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations representatives, and the Curriculum Corporation VASP team. Two of the clusters had previously been involved in Values Education grants projects but for most of the cluster representatives, it was their first attendance at a values education briefing.

The objectives of the briefing were to:

• give an overview of the VASP and introduce all VASP clusters;
• provide an update on the Australian Government’s values education initiative;
• explore what project experience has taught us about good practice in values education;
• provide VASP clusters with an opportunity to begin to refine their project plans and develop an understanding of the key elements of the project;
• inform participants about the Curriculum Corporation support services and resources available to support individual cluster projects.

The guest speaker, Professor Judith Chapman, Professor of Education and Director of Centre of Lifelong Learning, Australian Catholic University, and Academic Consultant to the VASP, presented key messages on good practice in values education garnered from her knowledge of the area, the learnings of the Values Education Good Practice Schools Projects (VEGPSP) and her experiences as a university advisor to cluster projects. Following are some of her key messages.

• Values education is a whole of curriculum concept.
• Modelling is an integral component of good practice.
• Values should be explicitly articulated and explicitly taught.
• Sustained and targeted professional learning is crucial.
• Students are located at the centre of learning.
• Values education enhances student agency.
• It is at the creative centre that young people learn best.
• Values education provides a common ground for social inclusion.

Guest speaker Dr Julie Hamston, Senior Lecturer, Language and Literacy Education, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University of Melbourne, and Academic Consultant and Researcher to the VASP, clearly outlined the VASP research approaches and provided examples of types of data clusters and how this data could be turned into evidence. She explained that there are two levels of research within the project.

1. Research of the VASP collated by the VASP researcher.
2. Participatory Action Research conducted by the cluster schools in the VASP. 

Cluster representatives engaged in group activity to explore the ten principles of good practice from the Final Report of VEGPSP – Stage 2 and the links to their own projects, and to do individual cluster planning work. Each cluster also presented a brief overview of their project. 

A panel of people who had participated in Values Education Good Practice Schools Project – Stage 2 gave practical advice and responded to questions on ‘what works’ in implementing the values school clusters projects.

All participants at the briefing session received a folder of materials to support the project. It included the VASP Cluster Coordinators’ Guide, which outlines objectives of the project, key personnel and contacts, timelines and deliverables. The guide will be updated with additional documents to support the clusters during the project. 

The day’s activities were intense and involving and were tackled with much good humour and goodwill. One participant wrote, ‘Thank you for the opportunity to participate in this project. It offers a wonderful opportunity to support our professional learning community. However, I also expect there will be an array of challenges to master and “creatively resolve”.’