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2019 (32) 16 September


ET News Digest
Your Weekly Education Newsletter
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Ripple effect of toxic executives in schools 
The dark side of leadership in our primary and high schools has been exposed, with mental and physical harm wreaked by bad leaders being revealed as widespread and commonplace.
  Destructive leadership is defined as leadership that is 'perceived to cause physiological, psychological, organisational or environmental harm'.
   Manifestations of destructive leadership include incompetence; immorality; manipulation; fraudulence; abuse; tyranny; deviancy; and illegality. Read more

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Immigrant parents can push kids in the wrong direction
Immigrant parents want the best for their children like everyone else but cultural and aspirational factors can lead them to push their kids too hard and often in directions that they can’t cope with.
   Educational leaders are concerned about some parents forcing their children to choose particular subjects, such as high-level mathematics and science, well outside their academic capabilities. 
   Intergenerational learning and education values, as well as failed career aspirations, of immigrant parents play a major role in their children’s subject choices. Read more

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Anti-stress strategies needed for exam time
It’s nearly exam time and the kids are stressed, something can be done though, and it starts with encouraging them to ask for help and getting some strategies in place, though currently most don’t do either.
   One in 10 are suffering from extreme stress when it comes to exams says a survey of 1000 people aged between 14 and 25, and despite high levels of exam stress, 66% of students said they do not seek external help to manage this stress. Read more

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New Tech Girl superhero portal
The Tech Girls Movement Foundation (TGMF) will have a smart new portal for the Search for the Next Tech Girl Superhero Competition.
   TGMF runs a STEM Entrepreneurship program called ‘Search for the Next Tech Girl Superhero’ (SNTGS).  Teams of girls aged 7-17 across Australia and New Zealand identify a problem in their local community, research it, develop a business plan, design an app, code an app prototype, and pitch it to leaders from the Australian STEM industry. The winning teams are invited to travel to Silicon Valley to pitch their ideas to top technology executives and engineers. Read more

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Mental health in the picture in September
Mental health is under the spotlight in September with three awareness days this month: Child Protection Week (Sept 1-7); World Suicide Prevention Day (Sept 10) and RU OK Day (Sept 12) focusing discussions around mental health.
   The events are more relevant than ever as Kids Helpline needed to expand their capacity to field calls to meet demand from troubled youth. The number of contacts to Kids Helpline for the 6 months to July 2019 was 76,257, with 6,928 (19%) related to suicide.
   Kids Helpline says mental health issues and suicide-related thoughts accounted for more than one fifth of all calls made. Read more

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Free in-school road safety program for rural secondary schools
The Road to Zero Regional In-School Program is a new pop-up exhibition and curriculum-linked education program based on the world-first Road to Zero experience at Melbourne Museum.
   The free program is designed for students studying Science, Health & Physical Education (Year 9 and 10) or VCAL.
   The Road to Zero Regional In-School Program engages students through immersive digital technology to learn about road safety issues and consider how they can contribute to achieving the vision of zero lives lost on our roads. Read more

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Government offers $20,000 grants for schools to participate in STEM
The Government is offering grants of up to $20,000 for schools and organisations to give kids science opportunities in Australia and abroad.
   The Sponsorship Grants for Student Science Engagement and International Competitions program is now open for applications.
   The program allocates up to $1.6 million each year via grants of between $1000 and $20,000. Applications are capped at $1500 per student for domestic, and $5000 per student for overseas competitions and events. Read more

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Key education event posts 10% visitor growth
Registration numbers at the National Education Summit were up 10% on last year, with strong attendance across The Education Show, Special Needs Symposium, Digital Classroom Conference, Transforming Australian Schools Conference and Positive Education Conference.
   Almost 1800 educators stepped out of schools to attend an inspiring professional development event at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre encompassing four conferences and one trade on Friday 30 August - Saturday 31 August 2019. Read more