We are lucky enough to be able to share with you some of the wonderful success stories coming out of Africa. The charity African Action on Aids is committed to improving the lives of African's touched by this disease, to support their children and families and to bring hope in times of need. This week we share in the story of how AAA is encouraging orphan girls to study nursing and why a good education can be a lifesaver. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Why do we encourage girl orphans who wish to pursue nursing studies? Because there is a shortage of 1.5 million health... Full article »

Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 10:04 AM Comment

Tags: Africa, charity, education, health

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The poor treatment of foreign students in Australia has been in the news again this week. The ABC TV "Four Corners" programme explained the plight of Indian students coming to Australia and being cheated by some of the educational institutions, migration agents etc. My only complaint with the programme was the implication that this was somehow a new issue. In fact almost as soon as the formal "export of education" got underway in 1986, there were problems. In my 1995 book "Global Agenda: Economics, The Environment and the Nation-State", I raised some concerns with this process (pp 128-134). Australia has... Full article »

Posted by: Webeditor at 12:24 PM Comment

Tags: Asia, Australasia, education, environment

On May 27 2009 I went back to school - as a principal. This is a bit of exaggeration as I was only a “Principal for a Day”. The community partnership scheme saw over 50 “Principals for a Day” shadow the principal in a primary, special or secondary government school in metropolitan Sydney and rural NSW. This is part of a global programme with sister events being held in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Auckland. The Principals for a day are business and community leaders representing a range of fields and all are interested in education and youth. It... Full article »

Tags: Australasia, education, environment, health

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The British magazine "The Economist" is one of the world's most influential publications. It normally deals with high finance and high politics. However, it has recently carried an obituary for a person who could not read or write for the first 98 years of his life. Full article »

Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 4:06 PM Comment

Tags: education, environment, health, sociology

2GB NEWS COMMENTARY Christmas is a particularly a time for children. So: just how are the world's children faring? The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) each year publishes a survey of the world's children. One of the most captivating pages of the Report contains a poem from a UNICEF official based in Mozambique. At a time when so much of the Australia media are dominated by crass commercialism and the need for us to spend money, it is a statement on how to teach in one of the world's poorest countries. No Australian quite lives at the level of poverty... Full article »

Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 2:39 PM Comment

Tags: charity, education, health, religion, sociology

Podcast with Professor Howard Gardner about his book five minds for the future. Full article »

Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 6:54 PM Comment

Tags: economics, education, environment, health, reviews

The schools are now getting back to work - including the country's largest school for older Australians. But unlike many younger Australians who may not be quite so keen on school, these older Australians love learning. There are at least 16 schools for seniors in Australia. Wesley Mission's School for Seniors began in 1969. It then had 400 students and it now has almost 1,400. The minium age for enrolment is 50. The oldest current student is 94 years young. The School began solely with volunteers and there are now about 111 volunteers involved. But as the School has expanded,... Full article »

Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 2:23 PM Comment

Tags: charity, education, environment, health

There is always a great interest in leadership. But what is required of leaders in the current world of great change? Professor Harlan Cleveland, who has had a very distinguished career in US politics and universities, has given a set of lectures at the International Leadership Academy on "Leadership and the Information Revolution". There are six points worth noting. First, the information revolution is very different from the previous agricultural and industrial revolutions. Unlike tangible resources, information expands as it is used; information tends toward glut rather than scarcity; a common complaint about information is not skimpy rations but overload.... Full article »

Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 1:59 PM Comment

Tags: business, education, technology

Schools are finishing and now the drinking begins. The annual "schoolies week" is underway and the police are busy making arrests. I have just returned from Brisbane. The Queensland media are full of stories of the way in which a huge contingent of under-cover police officers are tackling the 7,000 teenagers who have converged on Surfers Paradise alone for the Schoolies Week. Although the uniformed police presence has been highly visible, the majority of arrests have been made by plain-clothes officers mingling in the crowds. Schoolies Week is, of course, simply the precursor to the long alcoholic binge leading up... Full article »

Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 1:13 PM Comment

Tags: education, environment, health

The Higher School Certificate season is with us once again. Students and their relatives are under a great deal of stress. But are we making too much of the HSC results? Much of the stress that students feel is due to the way in which the HSC is seen as such a final examination, and that a failure in the HSC is seen as virtually terminal. There is life after the HSC. First, the HSC results only measure a student's skill in the examination at a particular time. The HSC has no predictive capacity. I have known students to come... Full article »

Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 9:54 PM Comment

Tags: Australasia, education, environment, sociology

The academic year has started. School and university class rooms hum with lectures. But how many students will have truly memorable educational experiences? Full article »

Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 9:28 PM Comment

Tags: education, environment

Schools have changed a great deal over the years. Last week, on May 28, about 50 people in this state were given the opportunity to be a Principal for a Day and so see what teaching and learning are like nowadays at the sharp end. This was part of the state's observance of Education Week.   Principal for Day is also part of a global programme, with sister activities in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Auckland, as well as other locations in Australia.   I was invited to go to Ultimo Public School, where the Principal is Stephanie Searle. The original... Full article »

Posted by: Amanda Foxon-Hill at 11:25 PM Comment

Tags: education, environment