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The EBE Journal JOURNAL OF THE ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS EUCATORS NEW SOUTH WALES

Commerce

Business Studies

Economics

Legal Studies

Resources Reviews

2008, No. 1

BY SUBSCRIPTION REGISTRATION NBY AUSTRALIAN POST PUBLICATION NUMBER NBP 1944

the ebe journalJOURNAL OF THE ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS EDUCATORS NEW

please noteContributors are remindedthat papers submitted to theEditor should be supplied ashard copy as well as on diskor by email.

Hard copies must be laserquality print‐outs, doublespaced and preferably on A4paper. Please ensure that all graphics (tables, diagrams, illustrations, etc.) includedin the paper are of suitable quality for reproduction.

The disk copy should beprovided, preferably inWord format, or saved as a text file. If the file includesgraphics (tables, diagrams,illustrations, etc.) created inanother application, pleasealso supply disk copies ofthe original graphics files.

SOUTH WALES

2008 Journal 1ContentsPresidents’ ReportBronwyn Hession, Director, Senior Education Officer –Office of the Director, Catholic Schools Office,Diocese of Broken Bay & EBE President

EBE’s Financial Statements

ECONOMICSState of the EconomyRoss Gittins, Economics Editor,Sydney Morning HeraldCase Study – GlobalisationImpact of globalisation in SingaporeKerry Newman, Senior Economics TeacherNorth Sydney Girls High SchoolThe business of teachingBusiness Educators Australasia (BEA) Conference 9 – 11 July 2008

BUSINESS STUDIESInteractive Whiteboards Using the interactive whiteboard as a revision tool in Business Studies Accreditation for professional competence Kim Jackson, Principal, Killarney Heights High School

COMMERCE Integrating consumer and financial literacy across the curriculumfrom primary to year 10

LEGAL STUDIESTwelve tricky questions about government elections and voting that could be asked in your classroomsJoe Alvaro, All Saints Catholic Senior College

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PRESIDENT:

Ms Bronwyn Hession

VICE PRESIDENTS: Ms Lyn Kirkby Ms Kate Dally

TREASURER: Mr John Nairn

COMPANY SECRETARY:

Ms Gae York

DIRECTORS: Mr Joe Alvaro

Ms Betsy Harvey Ms Bernadette Henry

Mr Michael Peters Mr Gavin Russell

Mr Andrew Skehan Ms Rhonda Thompson

EDITOR:

Ms Anne Layman

DESKTOP PUBLISHING: Ms Gay-Louise Purchase

PUBLISHED BY:

Economics & Business Educators NSW ABN 29 002 677 750

ISSN 1488-3696

PO Box 67 Leichhardt NSW 2040

Phone: (02) 9564 5007 Fax: (02) 9564 5309 Mobile: 0411 118284

Email: [email protected] Website: www.ebe.nsw.edu.au

“THE EBE JOURNAL” / “ECONOMICS” is indexed APAIS: Australian Public Affairs Information Service produced by the National Library of Australia in both online and CD-ROM format.

Access to APAIS is now available via database subscription from: RMIT Publishing / INFORMIT – PO Box 12058 A ‘Beckett Street, Melbourne 8006; Tel. (03) 99258100; http://www,rmitpublishing.com.au; email: [email protected].

The phone for APAIS information is (02) 626 1650; the phone for printed APAIS is (02) 626 1560,

Information about APAIS is also available via the National Library web site at: http//www.nia.gov.a/apais/index.html.

The ISSN assigned to EBE Journal is 1834-1780.

The views expressed in these articles are not necessarily those of the editor or the association. All articles published are done so in good faith and without prejudice.

All contributions are received in good faith by the editor as original contributions of authors, and to the knowledge of the editor there has been no breach of copyright by the publication of any articles, diagrams or figures in the magazine. If due to the failure of an author to correctly inform that his/her work is not an original work and there is a breach of copyright, the editors, having no prior knowledge, cannot accept responsibility.

Any books recommended by any authors of articles and Internet sites in this Journal are not the recommendations of the Economics & Business Educators NSW.

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report president’s report

president’s report

007 has been both a year of significant challenge and of significant progress for EBE NSW. The achievements of the year

build upon the work of recent years and the leadership of the Board and in particular the executive over those years.

With both state and federal elections in 2007, education has been dominant in media deliberations throughout the year. Discussions have emphasised the call for greater national consistency in curriculum and assessment in school education. As the year draws to a close an Australian Certificate of Education is still on the agenda and Economics and Business education are represented in a draft blueprint for national curriculum. Financial literacy and the Commonwealth Treasury initiatives in school education have found their way into AGQTP planning for 2008. These issues were represented in EBE’s annual conference in May 2007.

The role of professional associations as key stakeholders in the education debate has been strengthened in recent years. In NSW a revitalised Professional Teachers’ Council and at the national level greater participation of Business Educators Australasia in national deliberations have been part of this change. EBE has contributed more significantly to state and national discussions in 2007 than in previous years and this important role and responsibility will continue to grow in 2008.

The EBE website, www.ebe.nsw.edu.au which was launched at our annual conference is a key achievement for 2007. The website now is the key communication tool for teachers and further enhancements are planned for 2008. We are indebted to Rhonda Thompson for her expertise and commitment in this area.

The 2007 Lesson Study project, lead by Anne Layman was also a major exercise of 2007, involving the commitment of a number of dedicated teachers on a quest to investigate, reflect on and share their practice and their learning. A major report on the project and its findings has been provided to DEST and will be the subject of ongoing work in 2008.

Professional learning and professional practice remain at the heart of the work of EBE. After the submission of a detailed proposal and sample professional development materials, EBE NSW was accredited by the NSW Institute of Teachers in 2007 as an endorsed provider of professional development. This means that teachers seeking accreditation through the Institute can include their attendance at EBE professional development courses towards their required Institute endorsed professional development requirements. This endorsement, through the umbrella PTC endorsement, will also facilitate effective collaboration between EBE and other professional associations including the Legal Studies Association and the Geography Teachers Association.

The 2007 Professional Development program sought again to meet needs and respond to the interests of members. New scheme teachers were targeted again as were teachers involved in teaching HSC courses in Business Studies, Economics and Legal Studies for the first time. The Annual Conference was moved to May because of the NSW government election in March. The program included a leadership stream for HSIE Coordinators and those aspiring to leadership positions. There is continued interest in this area. Financial Literacy was also targeted as a main theme and we are grateful for the generous sponsorship of Quicken for both the conference and our other activities. Whilst the conference was well attended generally, the attendance by teachers from regional areas was

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less than hoped for. This has reduced EBE’s ability to support regional networks of Economics and Business Studies teachers through the regional conference program. The AGQTP funds that EBE successfully tendered for again in 2007 gave teachers from these regions an opportunity to attend the annual conference at a reduced cost.

A draft 2008 professional development plan can be accessed from EBE’S website. A new initiative is responding to the needs of 7 – 10 Commerce teachers with a one day program that includes a focus on using technology.

Despite best efforts of many at the end of 2006, the administration of the EBE office has continued to frustrate the efforts of the Board during 2007. This has impacted adversely on our capacity to deliver quality and timely service to our members. Our recruitment of a part-time office administrator at the end of 2006 was short lived and the office has limped along during 2007. Annette Davies has once again kept the ship afloat and for this we are very grateful. We also very much appreciate the work of Alan Hearle who has supported Annette as the Board seek again to recruit an administrator. A significant milestone in 2007 has been the MYOB project and a commitment to ensure that maximum efficiency is gained from the system. Under the leadership of our secretary Gae York, Directors undertook a major exercise in reorganising the EBE office and implementing a new information management and record keeping system. This work will continue in 2008.

Other activities in 2007 included:

• 2007 PYOE Competition, with an increase in entries again in 2007

• The revision of the Yellow Book of Business Studies terms

• Publication of the EBE journal, edited and coordinated by Anne Layman

• The revision of the Red Book – activities for Economics and Business Studies ( to be launched at the 2008 Annual Conference)

• Ongoing feedback from the EBE Board to Teaching Australia and NSW Institute of Teachers initiatives

Looking ahead, there are several emerging priorities that will require EBE’s energy and commitment:

1. The development at national level of professional standards for teachers of Economics and Business Studies

2. The revision of the NSW Stage 6 Business Studies syllabus by the Board of Studies

3. The release of a national professional development strategy for teachers of Consumer and Financial Literacy

4. The accreditation of NSW teachers for professional accomplishment and leadership.

In addition we will strive to continue to strengthen the membership base of our association. Individual membership grew by 45% in 2007. Consolidating our partnerships and seeking new sponsorship opportunities continue to be ongoing challenges.

In conclusion I wish to acknowledge and express my sincere appreciation to the EBE Board, the executive and Annette Davies for their continued commitment to EBE NSW, their hard work over many hours and for their invaluable support both personally and professionally. 2007 is a year that we can look back on with great satisfaction. 2008 is a year we look forward to, with new challenges and opportunities.

Bronwyn Hession

PRESIDENT

October 22, 2007.

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report Financial Statements

ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS EDUCATORS NSW

A.C.N. 002 677 750

(A Company Limited by Guarantee)

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED

30TH JUNE, 2007

HARLEY, RUSSELL & DAY Chartered Accountants

2/172 Liverpool Road ENFIELD NSW 2136

Phone: (02) 9744 6922 Fax: (02) 9744 6747

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A.C.N. 002 677 750


CONTENTS

Directors’ Report

Auditor’s Independent Declaration

Directors’ Declaration

Auditor’s Report

Statement of Financial Position

Disclaimer

Trading Statement

Revenue& Expense Account

Notes to the Accounts

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A.C.N. 002 677 750


DIRECTORS’ REPORT

Your Directors present their report on the accounts of the Company for the year ended 30th June, 2007.

NAME OF DIRECTORS

The names of Directors in Office at any time during the year and up to the date of this report are:‐

John Nairn Ian Biddle Aesh Rao

Michael Peters Wayne Sheridan Michael Horsley

Kate Dally Heather Brown Lyn Kirkby

Rhonda Thompson Betsy Harvey Andrew Skehan

Bronwyn Hession Anne Layman Gae York

Glen Wines Gavin Russell

PRINCIPAL ACTIVITIES

The principal activities of the Association during the period were to operate as a professional association of teachers and provide teaching materials for use by the teachers and students.

MEMBERS 2007 2006

Complimentary 20 20

Corporation 4 3

Individual 94 62

Individual – Rural & Remote 29 27

Life 10 10

School 204 210

Student/Retiree 5 12

366 344

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SIGNIFICANT CHANGES

During the period there was no significant change in the nature of the principal activities of the Association.

TRADING RESULTS

The profit from operation for the period (after no Provision for Income Tax and no depreciation) amounted to

$16,016, (2006: $ 3,832).

REVIEW OF OPERATIONS

Movements in significant items of Revenue are as follows:‐

2007 2006 Increase/(Decrease) Percentage

Sales 8,630 12,206 (3576) (29.3%)

Subscriptions 35,151 33,693 1458 4.4%

Operating Expenses 106,684 83,754 22,930 27.4%

CHANGE IN STATE OF AFFAIRS

The Association’s Balance Sheet discloses members’ equity of $23,365 (2006: $7,349).

DIRECTORS’ INTEREST

The Association does not have a Share Capital nor does it have any related corporations, hence no Director has an interest required to be declared by Section 307(c).

AUDITORS

Harley, Russell & Day, Chartered Accountants, continues in the office in accordance with Section 327 3(b) of the Corporations Law.

ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION

The Company’s operations are subject to various environmental regulations under both Commonwealth and State legislation. The Directors are not aware of any breaches of the legislation during the financial year which are material in nature.

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EVENTS SUBSEQUENT TO BALANCE DATE

There is, as at the date of this report, no matter of circumstances which have arisen since 30th June, 2007, that have significantly affect or may significantly affect:-

(i) the operations of the Company; (ii) the result of those operations; or (iii) the state of affairs of the company, subsequent to 30th June, 2007.

INFORMATION OF DIRECTORS

Name of Directors Occupation Special Board Meetings Apologies Responsibilities Attended

Dr Mike Horsley Associate Professor

School of Education President 3 0 University of Western Sydney (now resigned)

Wayne Sheridan Head Teacher – Social Sciences Company Secretary 0 3

Bossley Park High School (now resigned)

John Nairn HSIE Coordinator Treasurer 10 0

Masada College

Heather Brown Head Teacher – Social Sciences Joint Vice‐President 0 3

Liverpool Girls High School (now resigned)

Lyn Kirkby Co‐ordinator of Social Joint Vice‐President 9 1

Science

Moriah College

Kate Dally Head Teacher‐ Social Sciences Joint Vice‐President 8 2 Birrong Girls High School

Bronwyn Hession Senior Education Officer President 9 1 Policy & Development

NSW Office of the Board of Studies

Michael Peters Part‐Time Law Lecturer Director 4 6

UNSW

Aesh Rao Teacher Director 1 9

PLC Pymble

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INFORMATION OF DIRECTORS (continued)

Name of Directors Occupation Special Board Meetings Apologies Responsibilities Attended

Ian Biddle Head Teacher – Social Sciences Director 0 3

Jamison High School (now resigned)

Rhonda Thompson HSIE Teacher Director 7 3

St. John Bosco College

Betsy Harvey VET Co‐ordinator Director 8 2 Brigidine College, St. Ives

Anne Layman Director of Studies ‐ Editor 7 3

Senior Curriculum

MLC School

Gae York Social Science Teacher Company Secretary 6 1

Westfield Sports High School

Andrew Skehan Social Science Teacher Director 3 1

Granville South High School

Glen Wines Teacher Director 2 5

Burwood Girls High School (now resigned)

Gavin Russell Social Science Teacher Director 1 0

Moriah College

DIRECTORS’ BENEFITS

Since the end of the previous financial year, no Director has received or become entitled to receive any benefit by reason of a contract between the Association and themselves or with a firm of which they have substantial interest.

INDEMNITY

The Company has not, during or since the financial year, in respect of any person who is or has been an officer or Auditor of the Company or of a related body corporate:

(a) Indemnified or made any relevant agreement for indemnifying against a liability, including costs and expenses in successfully defending legal proceedings; or

(b) Paid or agreed to pay a premium in respect of a contract insuring against a liability for the costs or expenses to defend legal proceedings.

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LIKELY DEVELOPMENTS

It is intended to continue the Association’s activities on a similar basis to the past financial year, when possible improvements in accordance with the object of the Association will be carried our consistent with a conservative utilisation of available funds.

AUDITORS INDEPENDENT DECLARATION

The Auditor’s Independent Declaration for the year ended 30th June 2007 has been received and can be found on page 6 of this report.

DATED AT LEICHHARDT THIS

12TH DAY OF OCTOBER, 2007

IN ACCORDANCE WITH A

RESOLUTION OF THE DIRECTORS

_________________________________

BRONWYN HESSION ‐ PRESIDENT

_________________________________

GAE YORK ‐ SECRETARY

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A.C.N. 002 677 750


AUDITOR’S INDEPENDENT DECLARATION

UNDER SECTION 307C OF THE CORPORATIONS ACT 2001

TO THE DIRECTORS OF ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS EDUCATORS NSW

I declare to the best of my knowledge and belief, during the year ended 30th June 2007 there have been:

(i) no contraventions of the auditor independence requirements as set out in the Corporations Act 2001 in relation to the audit; and

(ii) no contraventions of any applicable code of professional conduct in relation to the audit.

DATED AT LEICHHARDT ..................................................

THIS 15TH DAY OF HARLEY, RUSSELL & DAY

OCTOBER, 2007 Chartered Accountants

GARRY WILLIAM DAY

Registered Company Auditor

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A.C.N. 002 677 750


DIRECTORS’ DECLARATION

In the opinion of the Directors of Economics and Business Educators NSW‐

1. the attached financial statements and notes are in accordance with the Corporations Act 2001;

(a) comply with Accounting Standards and the Corporations Regulations 2001; and

(b) give a true and fair view of the financial position as at 30th June, 2007 and of the performance for the year on that date of the company.

2. in the directors’ opinion there are reasonable grounds to believe that the company will be able to its debts as and when they become due and payable.

DATED AT LEICHHARDT THIS

12TH DAY OF OCTOBER, 2007

IN ACCORDANCE WITH A

RESOLUTION OF THE DIRECTORS

_________________________________

BRONWYN HESSION ‐ PRESIDENT

_________________________________

GAE YORK ‐ SECRETARY

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INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT

TO THE MEMBERS OF ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS EDUCATORS NSW

A.C.N. 002 677 750


REPORT ON THE FINANCIAL REPORT

We have audited the accompanying financial report of Economics and Business Educators NSW (“the company”) which comprises the balance sheet as at 30 June 2007 and the income statement, statement of changes in equity and cash flow statement for the year ended on that date, a summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory notes and the directors’ declaration of the entity comprising the company. DIRECTORS’ RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE FINANCIAL REPORT The directors of the company are responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of the financial report in accordance with Australian Accounting Standards (including the Australian Accounting Interpretations) and the Corporations Act 2001. This responsibility includes establishing and maintaining internal control relevant to the preparation and fair presentation of the financial report that is free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error; selecting and applying appropriate accounting policies; and making accounting estimates that are reasonable in the circumstances. In Note 1 the directors also state, in accordance with Accounting Standard ASSB 101: “Presentation of Financial Statements”, that compliance with the Australian equivalents to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) ensures that the financial report, comprising the financial statements and notes complies with IFRS. AUDTORS’ RESPONSIBILITY Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the financial report based on our audit. We conducted our audit in accordance with Australian Auditing Standards. These Auditing Standards require that we comply with relevant ethical requirements relating to audit engagements and plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance whether the financial report is free from material misstatement. An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial report. The procedures selected depend on the auditor’s judgment, including the assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the financial report, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments, the auditor considers internal control relevant to the entity’s preparation and fair presentation of the financial report in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the entity’s internal control. An audit also includes evaluating the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates made by the directors, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial report. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our audit opinion. INDEPENDENCE In conducting our audit, we have complied with the independence requirements of the Corporations Act 2001. We confirm that the independence declaration required by the Corporations Act 2001, provided to the directors of Economics and Business Educators NSW would be in the same terms if provided to the directors as at the date of this auditor’s report.

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INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT

TO THE MEMBERS OF ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS EDUCATORS NSW continued

A.C.N. 002 677 750


AUDITOR’S OPINION: In our opinion: a. the financial report of Economics and Business Educators NSW is in accordance with the Corporations Act

2001, including: (i) giving a true and fair view of the company’s financial position as at 30 June 2007 and of the

performance for the year ended on that date; and (ii) complying with Australian Accounting Standards (including the Australian Accounting

Interpretations) and the Corporations Regulations 2001. b. The financial report also complies with International Financial Reporting Standards as disclosed in Note 1. DATED AT SYDNEY ..................................................



GARRY WILLIAM DAY


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A.C.N. 002 677 750


DISCLAIMER

The additional financial data presented on the following three pages consist of the Trading Statement and Revenue and Expenditure Account and are in accordance with the books and records of the Economics and Business Educators NSW, which have been subjected to the auditing procedures applied in our statutory audit of the Company for the year ended 30th June, 2007. It will be appreciated that our statutory audit did not cover all details of the additional financial data. Accordingly, we do not express an opinion on such financial data and no warranty of accuracy or reliability is given.

In accordance with our firm policy, we advise that neither the firm nor any member or employee of the firm undertakes responsibility arising in any way whatsoever to any person (other than the company) in respect of such data, including any errors or omissions therein, arising through negligence or otherwise however caused.

DATED AT SYDNEY ............................................................



GARRY WILLIAM DAY


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A.C.N. 002 677 750


NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30TH JUNE 2007

2007 2006

Note 2 ‐ CASH ASSETS

Petty Cash 100 100

Cash at Bank ‐ General Account 26,959 40,026

Cash on Deposit 17,202 16,419

$ 44,261 $ 56,545

Note 3 ‐ RECEIVABLES

Debtors $ 3,787 $ 2,247

Note 4 ‐ OTHER

Prepayment $ 703 $ 798

$ 703 $ 798

Note 5 ‐ PAYABLES

Payables & GST 1,525 3,361

Members Fees in Advance 17,023 16,131

PAYG 927 1,426

Receipts in advance 2,069 2,070

Creditors and accruals 2,944 4,253

Japanese Pilot Advance Funding ‐ 25,000

Superannuation Payable 47 ‐

Reckon Funding 850 ‐

25,386 $ 52,241

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Note 6 ‐ COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

The Memorandum of Association provides the liability of members is limited.

The Company is Limited by Guarantee. In the event of the company being wound up the liability of each member (both during the time he/she is a member and within one year afterwards) is limited to one hundred dollars ($100).

Note 7 ‐ PROVISION FOR EMPLOYEE ENTITLEMENTS

Holiday Pay, Sick Leave and Long Service Leave have not been provided on the basis of the relevant state Legislation and Award including all amounts legally payable as at the date of the Balance Sheet and any amounts payable under contingencies provided for in respect of employee termination.

Note 8 ‐ DIRECTORS' EMOLUMENTS

No Emoluments were received by any Director of the Association.

Note 9 ‐ INCOME TAX

Based on the provision of the Income Tax Assessment Act, 1936 (amended) the Company does not face any liability for the current year.

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A.C.N. 002 677 750


NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30TH JUNE 2007

Note 10 ‐ AUDITORS' REMUNERATION 2007 2006

Amounts received or due and receivable for audit: $ 2,500 $ 2,500

Note 11 ‐ STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30TH JUNE, 2007

Cash Flow from Operating Activities Notes 2007 2006

Receipts from Customers 96,986 73,518

Payments to Suppliers and Employees (145,326) (72,978)

Interest Received 905 320

Subscriptions Received 35,151 33,693

Net Cash Flow provided by (used in) Operating Activities $ (12,284) $ 34,553

Cash Flow from Investing Activities

Payment for Plant & Equipment ‐ ‐

Net Cash provided by (used in) Investing Activities

Net Increase (Decrease) in Cash Held (12,284) 34,553

Cash at 30th June, 2006 56,545 21,992

Cash at 30th JUNE, 2007 2 $ 44,261 $ 56,545

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NOTES TO THE STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30TH JUNE, 2007

1. Reconciliation of Cash

For the purposes of this statement of cash flows, cash includes Cash on Hand and Cash at Bank. Cash at the end of the Financial Year as shown in the Statement of Cash Flows is reconciled to the related items in the Balance Sheet as follows:‐

Cash on Hand 100 100

Cash at Bank 26,959 40,026

Deposits at Bank 17,202 16,419

$ 44,261 $ 56,545

Reconciliation of Net Cash Provided by/(Used in) Operating Activities to Operating Profit

Operating Profit/(Loss) 16,016 3,832

Decrease/(Increase) in Prepayments 95 (32)

Decrease/(Increase) in Receivables (1,540)

2,804

(Decrease)/Increase in Payables (5,096)

6,985

(Decrease)/Increase in Members fees in advance

892 (287)

(Decrease)/Increase in other Payables (22,651) 21,252

Net Cash Provided by/(Used in) Operating Activities $ (12,284) $ 34,554

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econo

mics

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economics State of the economy

The State of the Economy

by Ross Gittins, Economics Editor, The Sydney Morning Herald

September 2007

conomic growth: the economy’s production of goods and services (real GDP) grew by a rapid 4.3 per cent over

the year to June, and if you exclude the effect of the drought, gross non-farm product grew by 5.2 per cent.

Inflation: the CPI rose by 2.1 per cent over the year to June, pushed down by the reversal of earlier volatile increases. However, measures of underlying inflation are higher, at 2.8 per cent, with underlying inflation rising by a worrying 0.9 per cent during the June quarter.

Unemployment: the unemployment rate was 4.3 per cent in July and it’s been below 5 per cent for more than a year, which is the lowest it’s been in 30 years. This is true even if you use broader measures of unemployment.

Current account deficit: the one bit of poor performance is the current account deficit, which was $14 billion for the June quarter, or 5.3 pc of GDP. For the year to June, the CAD totalled $59 billion, made up of a trade deficit of $12 billion and a net income deficit of $47 billion. As a consequence of the high CADs over recent years, the foreign debt has been rising strongly as a percentage of GDP. At the end of June the net foreign debt was $544 billion, or 52 pc of GDP.

Now let’s take a closer look at the state of the economy. This is a particularly interesting time to be studying the Australian economy because we are at the conjunction of two major but unusual events: first, the biggest commodities boom in

more than 50 years and, second, the longest recorded period of expansion in the economy - 16 years and counting - which has taken us close to full production capacity for the first time in 30 years.

The resources boom: The resources boom has taken our terms of trade to their most favourable level since the Korean war wool boom of 1951. The terms of trade have improved by more than 30 per cent in three years. The boom has been prompted largely by the huge addition to world demand for resources arising from the rapid economic development of China. The improved terms of trade mean that an unchanged quantity of commodity exports now buys a greater quantity of imports - which means the nation’s real income is now higher. But this sudden surge in income constitutes a major shock to the economy and causes difficulty for the economic managers trying to keep things on an even keel. So far, however, inflation pressure has been kept in check, partly because the appreciation of the dollar as commodity prices have risen has shifted some of the real income from the boom sector to all those parts of the economy that buy imports, including imported capital equipment. The boom has also meant that some states - Queensland and Western Australia - have been growing faster than others, particularly NSW and Victoria.

The record expansion: Australians got used to experiencing recessions about once every seven or eight years. But we are now into our 17th year of continuous growth since the recession of the early 1990s. This is the longest expansion phase of the business cycle that we have figures for. During the past 16 completed years of expansion, growth in real GDP has averaged a healthy 3.6 per cent. This is an excellent performance. But almost every good thing that happens in the economy also carries disadvantages and the

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record expansion phase is no exception. The drawback is that we are close to running out of spare production capacity. Businesses are close to full capacity and we are fast running out of idle workers, as is borne out by the common complaints from businesses about shortages of skilled labour.

When demand grows faster than the economy’s capacity to supply the goods and services demanded, two things are likely to happen: much of the excess demand spills over into imports, while the excess demand that can’t be satisfied by imports puts upward pressure on prices. This is the classic case of ‘demand-pull’ inflation pressure. At this point in the cycle, the way to avoid inflation pressure is for aggregate demand (real GDP) to grow no faster than the economy’s ‘potential’ rate of growth - the trend rate at which production capacity is growing. The economic managers estimate that the economy’s potential growth rate is 3 to 3.25 per cent a year. This explains why the Reserve Bank is watching carefully for signs of any build-up of inflation pressure and has already tightened the stance of monetary policy to somewhat contractionary to ensure demand doesn’t grow too quickly for supply to keep up.

Monetary policy: MP is conducted by the RBA independent of the elected government. It’s the primary instrument by which the managers of the economy seek to achieve internal balance - low inflation and low unemployment. MP is conducted in accordance with the inflation target: to hold the inflation rate between 2 and 3 per cent, on average, over the cycle. Primary instrument of MP is the overnight cash rate, which the RBA controls via market operations.

Since May 2002 the RBA has been very slowly raising the official interest rate from the stimulatory level of 4.25 pc. Over the past five years it has raised the official cash rate nine times

in steps of 0.25 percentage points to reach 6.5 pc - which it judges to be somewhat contractionary. The most recent tightening was in August 2007. Knowing the economy is travelling so close to full capacity, and thus at risk of building inflation pressures, the RBA is watching wage settlements very closely, and has made it clear it will tighten further if it sees any sign of rising inflation.

Fiscal policy: officially, FP is conducted according to the Government’s medium-term fiscal strategy: ‘to maintain budget balance, on average, over the course of the economic cycle’. The Howard Government abandoned ‘external stability’ as a policy objective for FP in the early 2000s. In recent years it has kept FP running in neutral, offsetting the resources-boom fuelled growth in company tax collections with big increases in government spending and annual tax cuts, so that the planned budget surplus stays steady at about 1 pc of GDP. This ‘revenue recycling’ and neutering of FP ensures the budget puts neither upward nor downward pressure on interest rates, leaving the RBA to adjust the stance of monetary policy as it thinks fit.

Microeconomic policy: Whereas macroeconomic policy seeks to stabilise demand over the short term, microeconomic policy works on the supply side of the economy over the medium to longer term, seeking to raise its productivity, efficiency and flexibility. It does this mainly by reducing government intervention in markets to increase competitive pressure. Since the mid 80s, much microeconomic reform - including floating the dollar, deregulating the financial system, reducing protection, reforming the tax system, privatising or commercialising government-owned businesses and decentralising wage-fixing - has increased productivity and made the economy less inflation-prone. The Howard Government’s latest reforms include finishing the privatisation of Telstra and introducing Work Choices.

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economics Case Study ‐ Globalisation

Case Study ‐ Globalisation The impact of globalisation in Singapore By Kerry Newman

Senior Economics Teacher, North Sydney Girls High School Reviewed August 2007

Singapore, a former British colony, is located in South East Asia. This is a small island nation which boasts few natural resources and has a small population. Only 5% of the land area is forested & just 4% is arable. The population in 2007 was 4.4 million.1 Its proximity to the major trading routes between east and west has enabled it to establish itself as an important trade centre.

Globalisation is characterized by increased trade and investment links, the transfer of technology and ideas and the movement of labour. Singapore’s growth has been powered by strong growth in exports and high levels of foreign investment. About 66% of investment in Singapore is foreign investment.

There are more than 600 TNCs operating out of Singapore. It was recognized that TNCs could play a key role in facilitating rapid economic growth. They could provide capital, technology and technical expertise that it would otherwise take many years to develop.

1 In 2003 Singapore had 3.2 million citizens and 800 000 foreign citizens. It has a flagging birthrate & an ageing population so is trying to encourage higher levels of migration with the goal of boosting the population to 6.5 million over the next few decades. This would mean almost doubling the current expat population of 875 400. Source – Time June 2007 p 40

Singapore has adopted a strategy of open trade with minimal tariff barriers. Almost 99% of imports are duty free. Low tariff barriers have helped with the development of export markets. It has also entered into a number of trade agreements over the years to bolster its ties within and beyond the region. E.g. ASEAN (1967) & SAFTA (2002). It is hoped that such agreements will expand trade and investment flows & raise the nation’s profile as a regional centre for business.

The government of Singapore has been promoting the nation as a financial services hub in recent years. Investments held by portfolio managers in the city state rose 24% in 2006, a testament to the success of this policy in promoting the island state as a foreign investment destination. Employment growth in the financial services sector was strong in 2006.

It is a market economy which is both open and competitive. In 1965, at the time of independence, it was largely undeveloped. It experienced rapid economic growth over a 30 year period & in 1995 the OECD reclassified Singapore from a newly industrialized to an advanced industrialized economy. It is the 4th largest economy in South East Asia. By 2006 the nation had an average income per capita of $US 30 900 p.a.* (Time article –June 2007)

Most of its GDP is now derived from its secondary and tertiary industries. In 2007 68% of the labour force was employed in the services sector.As Singapore lacked natural advantages it needed to develop comparative advantage in high value added production.e.g. transportation, precision instruments, electronics & petroleum refining. In 1995 electronics made up 54% of exports and by

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2002 -03 this had risen to around 60% of non-oil domestic exports.

The government of Singapore, under the authoritarian leadership of Lee Kuan Yew, pursued interventionist policies to promote growth. There have been only 3 leaders of Singapore since its independence.

The economic system in operation here is one of indicative planning. The government of Singapore can claim to be the only country in South East Asia with a development model like that of Japan & South Korea. They also operate under a system of indicative planning.

The government of Singapore gave high priority to developing the island’s infrastructure. This was to create a favourable environment for business and to attract foreign investment. The government pursues an open door policy towards foreign investors, imposing very few restrictions on the level of capital participation, management control or sector activity. It offers tax incentives or concessions to high tech companies which has facilitated the transfer of technology. Singapore provides an example of how a government’s interventionist policies, combined with the encouragement of development led by foreign investment, can help create a competitive and prosperous economy.

It has established itself as a major trading nation by exploiting its strategic position along the busy shipping lanes of the Malacca Straits. This is its main spatial resource and it has sought to capitalize on this by continually upgrading its port facilities. It was the world’s 2nd busiest harbour by 1979. In recent years Singapore’s port began to face competition from ports elsewhere in South East Asia as its labour costs rose.

An advanced shipping system has been operating in Singapore for more than a decade. It has reduced unloading times from 48 hours to just 6. Clearance times for unloaded cargo fell from 72 hours to 15 minutes. The computerized Trade net system was able to eliminate time-consuming paperwork.

Up until more recent years there were around 1000 Government Linked Companies (GLCs) in

Singapore and of the 50 most profitable enterprises in the country, 13 were GLCs. For example Singapore Airlines, Telecom. In 1998 the top 22 GLCs accounted for 13% of the island’s GDP. They employed around 10% of the workforce and were present in virtually all sectors of the economy. For example in food processing, petrochemicals, shipyards, transportation, tourism and retailing.

There were retrenchments in state controlled enterprises, like the Singapore Port Authority, in the recession of 2001. In 2003 it was announced that the civil service & state run companies would hand over many of their functions to the private sector.

A strategy to raise educational standards was also pursued by the government of Singapore. This was acknowledged as a significant contributor to the rapid growth and development of this Asian nation. The substantial investment in the nation’s infrastructure has created an investment friendly environment with low cost transport, communications & electricity and a well educated workforce. The government is now investing heavily in a technology based curriculum in order to prepare students for a high tech workplace. This will enable them to participate more fully in the global marketplace.

The government has exercised strong control over labour unions to maintain their initial advantage of low cost labour. They outlawed independent labour unions and experienced minimal labour disruption.

Labour shortages in the 1990s contributed to wage rises. Singapore wants to cut its labour bill. A study completed in recent years indicated that Singapore had the 4th highest wages in the world. They were higher than wages in the US or Australia. Wage costs here account for about 40% of business costs. The rise in wages has encouraged low cost manufacturing concerns to move to China & India. The government is anxious to reverse this trend. It has reduced the amount that employers must direct to the Central Provident Fund. The Japanese TNC, Matsushita, says that this policy change will save about 500 jobs as it will no longer need to relocate to China.

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In 1998, the level of saving in Singapore was equal to 51% of GDP. This was the highest level in the world. The government has promoted a high level of saving by making it compulsory for workers to set aside a significant proportion of their income for superannuation. These funds go into the Central Provident Fund which was set up in 1955. Employers have to match this. In August 2003 the government announced radical changes to the CPF. The contributions have been cut by more than 3 percentage points & are down to 33%.

The high level of savings has made it possible for Singapore to experience a high level of home ownership & capital accumulation. Financial markets have played a vital role in the nation’s economic success.

The impact of globalisation is readily evident in Singapore. Trade has grown 3 times faster than the nation’s GDP. It has a very high level of trade dependency.2 The total value of imports in 1996 was equal to 14.2% of GDP. Approximately 40% of imports are re-exported. For example, water is imported from Malaysia, processed and re-exported.

This high level of trade dependency makes the nation more vulnerable to variations in the level of global activity. It is dependent on exports of electronics, pharmaceuticals,3 shipping and financial services. These have all been prone to sharp swings in demand. For example the US market drives almost 20% of the island’s exports and US demand appears to be getting diverted to China.

The process of globalisation has been facilitated here by the development of new transport and communication technologies. The government has a national IT plan and it believes that its IT growth will outstrip that of the US and Europe. It should be sustainable for around 30 years.

2 Trade dependency – the value of exports and imports is equal to or greater than the value of goods and services produced in the economy. 3 `Since 2000, production of drugs & medical devices has quadrupled to $15billion’ `The city state is becoming the largest hub for private banking outside Zurich.’ Kathleen Kingsbury `Singapore Soars’-Time June 2007 p 42

Telecommunications links have been upgraded to ensure that this nation is well placed to meet the needs of the global business community. There is a move away from manufacturing4 as the nation seeks to establish itself as an administrative centre. The government offers tax breaks and reasonably priced office space as investment incentives for foreign firms.

It must meet the challenge to broaden its export base with more service and knowledge based industries to offset the decline in key areas, like port activity. Singapore is well placed to meet the needs of the global business community because of its sophisticated telecommunications infrastructure. In 2007 the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation voted Singapore the most business-friendly economy.

The environmental impact of all developments is assessed by the pollution Control Dept. before developments are allowed to proceed. The PCD tries to ensure that health risks & pollution problems will be minimized. For example, industrial waste water must be treated to specified standards before being discharged into the sewer/water reticulation system. Loads which exceed the allowable standard must pay a tariff before discharging into public sewers. The Environmental Pollution Control Act came into operation 1.4.99. It consolidated the previous statutes on air, water, noise pollution and hazardous substance control.

Sustained periods of economic growth have enabled Singapore to experience growth plus development. Between 1996 – 2000, the real growth rate averaged 6.3%.

In 2001 it experienced its worst recession in 37 years. The outbreak of SARS in 2003 contributed to subdued economic activity in 20035 but by 2004 it had reached a growth rate of 8.8%. In 2005 the economy grew by 6% & unemployment

4 In 1999 manufacturing accounted for 25% of GDP & employed 27.6% of the workforce. By 2007 employment in manufacturing had fallen to just 20%. High tech manufacturing jobs are disappearing as manufacturers move offshore to China. 5 Travel receipts represent about 5% of GDP. In 2003 visitor numbers fell to their lowest level in 20 years.

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had fallen back to 2.5%.6 This was its lowest level in four and a half years. In spite of its strong growth it has been able to maintain low inflation rates.

The Trade Ministry forecast a growth rate for 2006 in the 7.5 -8% range. The economy grew at 7.9%. By the second quarter of 2007 the GDP of Singapore was expanding at an annualized rate of 14.4%. This was a result of two main factors – strong global demand in the bio-medical, aerospace and marine industries and higher levels of foreign investment in property, construction and financial services. As the current growth is more broad-based, Singapore is less vulnerable to volatile global cycles.

Rising global interest rates are impacting on consumption levels in global markets and this is likely to impact on export oriented economies like Singapore. Manufactured exports, like electronics, fell in 2006.

By the second quarter of 2007 the GDP of Singapore was expanding at an annualized rate of 14.4%. This was a result of two main factors – strong global demand in the bio-medical, aerospace and marine industries and higher levels of foreign investment in property, construction and financial services. As the current growth is more broad-based, Singapore is less vulnerable to volatile global cycles.

The quality of life has improved and the incidence of poverty has fallen over the past three decades. In 1995 only 6.5% of the population was living in poverty. However the wages of the poorest 30% Singaporeans have dropped over 2002 -2007.

Life expectancy was 77 years in 1997 and infant mortality was 3.6 per 1000. Literacy levels were over 90%, 100% of the population had access to safe water and most people could afford to buy their own homes.

Singapore’s taxes are among the lowest in Asia and this has attracted millionaires from elsewhere in Asia. The Government has reduced the

6 In March 2003 unemployment rose to 4.5%. A package of unemployment relief measures was announced in April 2003. Its main target was tourism related industries.

corporate tax rate by 8 percentage points since 2000. This has made Singapore a more attractive destination for foreign investors. Assets managed for offshore clients in Singapore climbed about 25% in 2005.’ AFR 3.4.06 `Banks sling manpower at Singapore’s millions.’ Yoolim Lee. In 2005 Singapore ranked 6th globally as an offshore private banking centre.

Development here has been within a framework of transparent markets where price signals guide the allocation of resources and where economic principles guide economic participation in the economy. The level of intervention is greater here than in other market style economies but the government has been more successful than some in picking winners and promoting growth and development.

Globalisation has brought benefits to the economy of Singapore. Trade is a major contributor to economic growth and foreign investment has facilitated the transfer of technology. The transnational companies operating out of Singapore have contributed to the high level of investment here and to the expansion of high-value added exports like electronics.

K Newman, received August 2007.

Activities

• Define indicative planning

• Identify the advantages and disadvantages of globalization for Singapore

APPLICATION FORM FOR CBF AWARD

Name: ...........................................................................................................

School:...........................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................

Member of which BEA affiliate organisation:.........................................................

Postal address:.................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................

Tel: ................................................................................................................

Fax: ...............................................................................................................

Mobile: ..........................................................................................................

E-mail: ............................................................................................................

Please attach to this application form a submission in 500 words or less on ‘what benefits would you and your teacher association obtain from interacting with teachers in your subject area from across Australia and New Zealand’.

Submissions should be sent to your BEA Teacher Association in your state/territory by 8 February 2008. For further information contact BEA on 1800 631 203.

The business of teachingBUSINESS EDUCATORS AUSTRALASIA (BEA) CONFERENCE Wednesday 9 to Friday 11 July 2008

The Commonwealth Bank Foundation (CBF) is offering an opportunity for teachers who have been teaching for less than five years to attend the Business Educators Australasia (BEA) conference ‘The business of teaching’ to be held in Melbourne, Victoria on 9 to 11 July 2008.

CBF will award free registration to four teachers from Australia and New Zealand. The BEA will contribute up to $350 towards airfare.

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?Any teacher who has been teaching for five years or less in the businesseducation/economics area and who is a member of a BEA affiliate.

HOW CAN I APPLY?Submit an application of 500 words or less on ‘what benefits would you and yourteacher association obtain from interacting with teachers in your subject area fromacross Australia and New Zealand ’.

WHAT WILL YOU RECEIVE?Airfare from your nearest capital city and registration fees to attend the BEA conference2008 — The business of teaching to be held on 9 to 11 July 2008 in Melbourne,Victoria.

Submissions should be received no later than 8 February 2008by the local affiliate organisation of which you are a member.

◆ Business and Enterprise Teachers’ Association of South Australia Inc. (BETASA)Ms Anne GlamuzinaPO Box 535, Salisbury SA 5108Tel: (08) 8250 2677 Fax: (08) 8281 7633

◆ Business Education Teachers’ Association, Northern Territory Inc. (BETANT)Ms Myra RamsayNorthern Territory Open Education Centre5 Johns Place, Rapid Creek NT 0810Tel: (08) 8922 2222 Fax: (08) 8922 2232

◆ Business Educators’ Association Queensland Inc. (BEAQ)Dr Anthony GrayUniversity of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba QLD 4350Tel: (07) 4631 1413 Fax: (07) 3857 4667

◆ Business Educators Australian Capital Territory Inc. (BEACT)Ms Sharon QuinnCopeland College, Copeland Drive, Melba ACT 2615Tel: (02) 6205 7622 Fax: (02) 6205 7629

◆ Business Educators Australasia Tasmania (BEAT)Ms Julie FisherSchool Education DivisionLetitia House, Mt Nelson TAS 7007Tel: (03) 6233 7020 Fax: (03) 6233 6982

◆ Business Educators Western Australia Inc. (BEWA)Ms Maria TsovleasCurriculum Council of Western Australia27 Walters Drive, Osborne Park WA 6017Tel: (08) 9273 6363 Fax: (08) 9273 6389

◆ Economics and Business Educators New South Wales (EBE NSW)Ms Bronwyn HessionDiocese of Broken BayPO Box 967, Pennant Hills NSW 1715Tel: (02) 9847 0250 Fax: (02) 9847 0001

◆ Economics Teachers’ Association of Western Australia Inc. (ETAWA)Dr Henryk FlakMater Dei CollegePO Box 10, Joondalup WA 6919Tel: (08) 9405 4777 Fax: (08) 9306 2629

◆ Economics Teachers’ Society of South Australia (ETSSA)Ms Margot Perry24 Buller Street, Prospect SA 5082M: 0439 331 394

◆ Legal Studies Association of New South Wales Inc (LSA NSW)Mr Brian ElliottPO Box 5300, Sydney NSW 2001Tel: (02) 9367 8274 Fax: (02) 9367 8476

◆ New Zealand Commerce and Economics Teachers Association Inc. (NZCETA)Ms Christine WatsonPO Box 95, Oamaru, New ZealandTel: (0011) 643 434 7099 Fax: (0011) 643 434 7099

◆ Queensland Economics Teachers’ Association Inc. (QETA)Mr Doug CaveGPO Box 1308, Brisbane QLD 4001Tel: (07) 3214 8230 Fax: (07) 3214 8231

◆ Victorian Commercial Teachers’ Association Inc. (VCTA)Ms Leonie SwarbrickPO Box 361, Abbotsford VIC 3067Tel: (03) 9419 9622 Fax: (03) 9419 1205

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Business studies Interactive whiteboards

Interactive whiteboards Using the Interactive whiteboard as a revision tool in Business Studies by Rhonda Thompson, HSIE Teacher, St John Bosco College, Engadine

uthor John Irving said that “Half my life is revision”. However, what good revision is will depend on who you are. As a student,

good revision should be easy to get started with, easy to stick with, and easy to remember. As teachers, our goal may not be “good” revision in the generic sense, but effective revision, whose end product is students who have retained pertinent information, skills and concepts, to empower them to answer questions accurately, including relevant detailed information, and that demonstrates a strong understanding of the content.

Using the interactive whiteboard as a revision tool

The interactive whiteboard (IW) is fast becoming the new teaching and learning tool in the classroom.

Overview

Wikipedia provides a useful overview:

An Interactive Whiteboard is a whiteboard writing surface which can capture writing electronically. Interactive whiteboards require a computer and are designed to also allow interaction with a projected computer image.

Interactive whiteboards are used in one of two ways:

1. To capture notes written on the whiteboard surface

2. To control (click and drag) and/or mark-up (annotate) a computer-generated image

projected on the whiteboard surface from a digital projector

Interactive whiteboards are replacing blackboards and whiteboards.

Classroom uses

Interactive whiteboards are used in many schools as replacements for traditional whiteboards and to provide ways to show students material on the computer (educational software, web sites, and others). Projectors, which are used on interactive whiteboards, can also be connected to a video recorder or DVD player thus eliminating the need for a television in the classroom. The interactive whiteboard also allows students to solve puzzles and math problems and demonstrate their knowledge, and allows the teacher to keep notes on the lesson.

In addition, interactive whiteboards allow teachers to record their instruction and post the material for review by students at a later time. This can be a very effective instructional strategy for students who benefit from repetition, who need to see the material presented again, for students who are absent from school, for struggling learners, and for review for mid-terms and finals. Brief instructional blocks can be recorded for review by students—they will see the exact presentation that occurred in the classroom with the teacher's audio input. This can help transform learning and instruction.

Literature reviews

There are a number of recent literature reviews and papers on the use of interactive whiteboards in the classroom:

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o Beauchamp, G and Parkinson, J (2005) Beyond the wow factor: developing interactivity with the interactive whiteboard. School Science Review (86) 316: 97–103.

o Glover, D and Miller, D, Averis, D and Door, V. (2005) The interactive whiteboard: a literature survey. Technology, Pedagogy and Education (14) 2: 155–170.

o Smith, H.J. , Higgins, S., Wall, K., and Miller, J. (2005) Interactive whiteboards: boon or bandwagon? A critical review of the literature, Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 21(2),pp.91–1011

5.2 Benefits of the use of I.W.’s as teaching tools

The British Educational Communications and Technology Agency’s ICT Research publication of 20032 outlines a number of benefits of the use of interactive whiteboards (I.W.’s)

General benefits:

● can be applied in all Key Learning Area’s and through all stages

● information can be presented more efficiently, allowing for more teaching time

● more opportunities for interaction and discussion in the classroom

● increases enjoyment of lessons – greater variety of resources and greater student motivation

Benefits for teachers:

● enables teachers to integrate ICT into their lessons while teaching from the front of the class. I now teach from the side of the room as a facilitator, not the centre of attention!

1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interactive_whiteboard 2 Available for download at http://www.becta.org.uk/page_documents/research/wtrs_whiteboards.pdf

● enables teachers to save and print what is on the board, including any notes made during the lesson, reducing duplication of effort and facilitating revision

● allows teachers to share and re-use materials, reducing workloads

● easy to use, particularly compared with using a computer in whole-class teaching

● inspires teachers to change their pedagogy and use more ICT, encouraging professional development

Benefits for students:

● increases enjoyment and motivation

● greater opportunities for participation and collaboration

● reduces the need for note-taking through the capacity to save and print what appears on the board

● students are able to cope with more complex concepts as a result of clearer, more efficient and more dynamic presentation

● different learning styles can be accommodated as teachers can call on a variety of resources to suit particular needs

● students do not have to use a keyboard to engage with the technology, increasing access for younger children and students with disabilities

Using I.W.’s as a revision tool

The key to using an Interactive Whiteboard as a revision tool is to:

Why?

One of the basics we all learn at teachers’ college is that good teaching takes students from the known to the unknown. By saving your lessons – be they brainstorms, mind maps, step by step processes or anything else that makes up your

Save those lessons!

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lesson, you can allow students access to these “lesson snapshots”. Students can work back through these at their own pace. These “lesson snapshots” can also be powerful exam revision tools. Instead of saying to students “remember when we learned about….”, the “lesson snapshot” allows you to show them – giving you scope to take students very quickly back through previously learned work, and apply it to newly learned concepts or questions.

Figure 7 A sample lesson from the IW

Working and answers to student examples

2 key concepts

An equation

The following files are examples of some revision activities for the revision of the Marketing topic in HSC Business Studies. They have been created for use on Smartboards – I’m using version 9.5. If your school has a smartboard, you are legally allowed to download the software to view these files, and to create your own from http://www2.smarttech.com/st/en-US/Support/Downloads/default.htm

• Elements of a marketing plan revision activity

• Lightening writing – the 4 P’s

• SWOT Activity

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Business studies Accreditation

Accreditation for professional competence by Kim Jackson, Principal, Killarney Heights High School

aving just acted as an assessor for the NSW Institute of Teachers for some new scheme Social Sciences teachers I thought that it would be appropriate to

share some of what I have learned for teachers who are seeking accreditation at Professional Competence with the Institute and for their supervisors. A number of the items included here have been also forwarded to the Institute for their consideration.

Introduction

You can think of the accreditation at Professional Competence as a two-part process.

Firstly, there is the mentoring of the teacher in the school. This process is an ongoing process determined by the school and the employer. Over a period of time the teacher must demonstrate ALL of the Professional Teaching Standards in their teaching practice.

When the supervisor’s report is written and the evidence attached, the Teacher Accreditation Authority signs off on the report and forwards it to the NSW Institute of Teachers (NSWIT). When this is done you are officially accredited at Professional Competence. In the government school system the Teacher Accreditation Authority is the School Education Director. In other school systems it may be the Principal or a designated officer in the system.

Secondly, the process is monitored and administered by the NSWIT. Assessors review the reports to ensure that the Professional Teaching Standards are applied consistently across all the schools in NSW. They give feedback to the Teacher Accreditation Authority about their process of accreditation. Neither the NSWIT nor the external assessors can override the accreditation decision that has been made.

Assessors need to see a sample of your work as a teacher in the form of evidence. Each piece of evidence should be carefully selected and annotated to demonstrate one or two Standards at Professional Competence. A good guideline is that you select evidence for at least ONE Standard per Element.

You do NOT need to demonstrate ALL of the Standards in your evidence as the report already covers a broad range of your teaching practice and the supervisor has already seen you demonstrate the Standards in your teaching.

It is better to carefully select and annotate a few documents than to throw everything into the report. The assessor wants to see a clear sample that gives an insight into your work and shows your understanding of the Standards.

The booklet from the NSWIT entitled Information for New Scheme Teachers provides the details about accreditation for all teachers in NSW.

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Some suggestions for candidates when selecting and preparing your evidence

1. Clearly label and number each piece of documentary evidence so that they can be cross referenced.

2. Clearly annotate each piece of evidence supplied. This does not necessarily mean place a shopping list of Standards at the top of each document. Better examples used text boxes of specific Standards that were superimposed on each document in the relevant place or they wrote their annotation on a separate page which was inserted directly before or after the piece of evidence. Effective annotations include some analysis of the context and application of the evidence in teaching practice, for example what happened when they ‘used a variety of appropriate resources and materials that engage students and support their learning’ (Standard 3.2.4).

3. Please ensure that when student work samples are submitted, that the student’s name is removed and that what you write as a comment or feedback for the student is something that will help them learn and improve their future performance. A comment like “Excellent result” does not help a student improve their future performance. It may be positive reinforcement or be trying to build a better relationship between the student and the teacher but it does not demonstrate Standard 3.2.7 ‘Provide timely, effective and consistent oral and written feedback to students to encourage them to reflect on and monitor their learning” nor does it demonstrate 3.2.6 ‘Communicate to students the link between their achievement and the outcomes set out in the syllabus.’

Comments on Evidence for Element 1 Be specific about the ICT activities used in your classroom. This needs to be more than ‘using the internet’ within a faculty teaching program. Demonstrate ‘effective use of the internet’ (part of Standard 1.2.4). This could include an annotated student work sample showing how the student has effectively used the internet to produce some specific work.

Comments on Evidence for Element 2 Lesson plans or student work samples that address the Standard 2.2.6 with a “range of literacy strategies to meet the needs of all students” should be more than a spelling list or an excursion report or and exposition assessment task unless you can show what you have done to specifically assess the needs of NESB, ATSI or special education students through these particular activities. Evidence of catering for individual learning differences in the classroom could include use of extension activities, curriculum compacting, enrichment activities for talented students or the use of remediation activities for students who are struggling to obtain mastery of specific concepts or skills.

It is important that the teacher reflect upon their practice as they are selecting their evidence and writing their annotations. If you are an early career teacher it is possible that early lessons have been delivered like a “one size fits all” type of model…. but on reflection a teacher might realise the need to do this a little differently next time in order to get better student engagement or better student results and achievement of learning outcomes. A follow up work sample that shows the subsequent modifications could be good evidence for Standards under Element 2, “Teachers know their students and how they learn”. This is where later pieces of evidence would better demonstrate the Standards than the early ones where you may still be learning about your students and their needs.

Comments on Evidence for Element 3

The Standards under Element 3, ‘Teachers plan, assess and report for effective learning’ provide a wide range for a teacher to select which one/s to address. The NSWIT prefers NOT to receive lesson observations as these are a source of evidence used by the supervisor to write the report. The teacher’s own evidence should be documents you have generated or modified in your teaching practice.

Some evidence that you may wish to include would be copies of one or a sequence of lesson plans which note:

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The course being studied e.g. Commerce

The class or year e.g. Year 10 – this clarifies the stage of the students

The syllabus outcome(s) being addressed

The variety of teaching and learning activities (if more than one lesson plan is included).

When addressing Standard 3.2.8, ‘Use and maintain effective and efficient record-keeping systems to monitor students’ learning progress’ the teacher should avoid using administrative documents, such as spreadsheets of results. These do not address the idea of “monitoring” or “progress”. The best examples seen have included a student’s results in a task and the homework follow up given to address a particular problem in the students’ learning.

If you are addressing 3.2.9, ‘Report effectively to students, parents and caregivers about student learning.” think about the word “effectively’. A proforma report with a generic comment would not demonstrate this Standard.

In this Element more teachers need to demonstrate their understanding of 3.2.10, ‘Use student assessment to evaluate teaching and learning programs and inform further planning.’ Some of the most effective documents here would be analysis of test results and planning for development of those skills.

Comments on Evidence for Element 4 Ensure that you use lesson plans or work sheets that incorporate a variety of group activities and questioning techniques for Standards within Element 4, ‘Teachers communicate effectively with their students.’

Comments on Evidence for Element 5 Element 5 is commonly addressed by your supervisor’s report. He or she has observed the teacher’s classroom and its conduct. Standards 5.2.3 and 5.2.4 could be effectively addressed through the lesson plans and programs submitted.

Comments on Evidence for Element 6 An extract from a teacher’s professional learning plan could be used here. Keep in mind that the

Professional Teaching Standards relate to teaching and learning. Avoid using a list of courses. Instead the teacher should use a course and show how the knowledge impacted on teaching and learning. This could include, a School Development Day and the specific professional learning undertaken, Beginning Teachers Induction program, faculty meetings, other professional interactions with supervisors and colleagues and external professional development courses completed.

Comments on Evidence for Element 7 Element 7 could be shown by interactions and networking with colleagues and community stakeholders in education forums (Standard 7.2.4) If a teacher is involved in specific community programs such a sporting organizations these are not appropriate to include as evidence. The Professional Teaching Standards are the basis for the report and evidence and everything needs to relate back to the teaching and learning environment. An example for Standard 7.2.3 might be a plan for bringing parents or the community to the school to participate in learning programs or a letter to parents asking them to assist their child to complete specific assessable tasks – perhaps related to family budgets in Commerce or family heritage as part of geography or history and to provide the teacher with better background knowledge of each student.

This list is by no means prescriptive or exhaustive. What I can say is that there are a lot of wonderful new scheme Social Scientists in our schools and I feel very fortunate to have been able to share some of their educational journey by acting as an assessor for the Institute of Teachers this year.

I would encourage other senior teachers to consider applying to be assessors with the NSW Institute of Teachers when expressions of interest are next sent out to schools. You may find that it gives you some good ideas in terms of how to organise some elements of learning and teaching in your own school. It is also a good opportunity to get a deeper understanding of the Standards for Professional Competence that need to be developed in our early career teachers.

comm

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Guidelines for using the flyers

Integrating Consumer and Financial Literacy across the curriculum from Primary to Year 10

The following flyers are intended to be used: • as promotional material to set the scene; • as discussion starters; and • in any sequence

Reasons for teaching consumer and financial literacy

Young people are faced with: • changing social and technological environments; • changing work and economic environments; • sophisticated and persuasive advertising from providers of

financial services; • a range of mobile phone plans and offers; and • greater exposure to a range of credit cards, and terms and

conditions.

Financial literacy: Australians Understanding Money Report shows: • Young people are less confident than adults when it comes to

managing money; • 59% of young people say that financially, they like to live for

today compared to 34% of adults; and • 70%–90% of young people want to learn more about money

issues:

91% Understanding rights and responsibilities 90% Saving 88% Recognising a scam 85% Planning for the financial future 84% Budgeting 84% Dealing with financial services providers 83% Getting information about money 83% Managing debt 82% Understanding financial language 80% Choosing appropriate insurance 81% Investing 73% Dealing with credit cards 70% Ensuring enough money for retirement

Young people want to learn more about money

Financial literacy: Australians understanding money is a 2007 study of financial literacy attitudes and behaviours of 7,500 Australians, including 553 young people aged 12 to 17. The majority of young people (70%—90%) were interested in improving their knowledge across a range of money issues including budgeting, saving and managing debt. The survey also found strong support amongst young people for financial literacy education in schools.

Budgeting — 84% of young Australians think it's important to learn more about budgeting compared with 57% of adults.

Saving — 72% of young people agreed that saving a small amount regularly from a young age is the most effective savings strategy.

Investing — around 65% of young people said they have the ability and understanding to invest, but only 13% would consider both risk and return before making an investment decision.

Integrating consumer and financial literacy skills across the curriculum

Conceptual skills: • analysis and evaluation; • decision making and problem solving; • research and investigation; • planning and organising.

Numeracy and literacy skills: • measurement, calculations and computations; • data collection, analysis, interpretation; • critical comprehension and interpretation of written

material, research and exploration; and • communication in oral, graphic and written forms.

Information and communication technologies skills• engaging with software applications, multimedia and

other electronic communication systems to record and present information.

Support for teaching consumer and financial literacy

What assistance can teachers access to teach consumer and financial literacy across the curriculum?

Support for teachers includes: • Professional Learning support to implement

Consumer and Financial Literacy through Australian Government Quality Teaching Programme (AGQTP);

• Professional Learning Package, including the Maitland financial literacy life skills school education programme DVD;

• Additional funding beyond 2008 through AGQTP;

• Advice on long term sustainability through community partnerships to improve student outcomes.

1974

Today

The first Bankcard was launched

There are about 250 different cards on offer, and as of November 2007 the nation had a credit card bill of $42 billion with 30 million revolving credit. There are over 13 million cards in circulation.

Complexity of credit cards (end 2007) Card Issuer BT Rate BT Period Std APR Fee

HSBC 0% until March '08 11.95% $39 p.a

St George 'Vertigo' Card 0% 6 mths 9.95% $45 p.a

ANZ "Low Rate" Mastercard 0% 6 mths 12.74% $58 p.a

Aussie 0% 6 mths 10.99% $49 p.a

Westpac Earth Travel Card 0.99% 6 mths 15.24% $79 p.a

ANZ Gold Card 7.99% 6 mths 18.24% $87 p.a

Citibank Silver 4.9% Until Paid Off 18.99% $69 p.a

Citibank Gold 4.9% Until Paid Off 18.99% $120 p.a

Commonwealth Bank Card 5.99% 5 mths 11.74% $48 p.a

Amex Gold "Low Rate" Card 6.99% 6 mths 12.99% $70 p.a

Including:

,

Living in the 21st century a world of complexity

Samples include:

45

Legal

stud

ies

46

legal studies elections

Twelve tricky questions about government elections and voting that could be asked in your classroom

By Joe Alvaro All Saints Catholic Senior College 10 October 2007

oth in Legal Studies and Commerce students learn about various aspects of government elections and voting when

studying topics related to government and parliament.

The following questions and answers may help teachers in helping curious students who may ask these questions in class without having to say to them “I will get back to you”.

Raising these questions in class may also help teachers with addressing the following dimensions of the NSW Quality Teaching Model (NSW Department of Education and Training, 2003):

1. Intellectual quality – lessons which consist of deep knowledge, deep understanding and which allow students to engage in higher-order thinking.

2. Significance – lessons which are meaningful and important to students, as students make connections between the theory of a course to what happens outside the classroom in the real world (e.g. on election day). By the end of 2007 NSW will have experienced both a State and Federal election, so students will be heavily exposed to government elections and voting during this year.

Questions

1. Can legal action be taken against politicians who break promises made during election campaigns?

No. Promises made by a political party or candidate during an election are not legally binding (Green,2004). The kind of action that can be taken is that voters can remind politicians that promises have been broken through the media or by writing to them and they can take away their authority to govern at the next election by not voting for them.

2. a) What would happen if Prime Minister John Howard lost his seat of Bennelong?

Technically John Howard would have to leave parliament, like any other member of Parliament who does not win a seat.

This situation has occurred in Canada. Prime Minister William Lyon McKenzie King was in office for almost three decades and twice lost his seat at elections where his government was returned. In both cases a fellow member of parliament kindly resigned in a safe seat (that is a seat that was usually won by the party that McKenzie belonged to). This caused the need for a by-election, allowing McKenzie to stand for election again and win (Green,2004). Here in Australia if Prime Minister Howard lost his

B

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seat he could convince a fellow member of Parliament to resign a safe federal Liberal seat and then contest the resulting by-election which he would probably win because it is a safe seat. The Prime Minister would be able to stay in office while this took place, as the constitution allows Ministers to hold office for up to three months without being a member of Parliament (Green,2004).

b) Has a political party in Australia ever won an election in which their leader lost their seat?

No. Prime Minister Stanley Bruce lost his seat of Flinders in Melbourne in 1929, but his government was defeated so even if he had won his seat he still would not have been Prime Minister (Crook, 2007).

3. a) What is a by-election? A by-election is a special election held to fill a place that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may occur because a member of parliament has died, resigned (Jaensch,1984) or has committed a serious crime.

b) Why are by-elections held for lower house seats, but not for upper house seats?

A lower house member of parliament represents their electorate, and only people in the electorate vote when there is a lower house vacancy. An upper house member of Parliament represents everyone in a particular state or territory, and all voters in a state or territory (that is all voters in all electorates in a state or territory) would need to vote if there was an upper house vacancy. Jaensch (1984) says “it is not feasible to establish the full,state-wide electoral machinery to elect just one member” (p.72). For example, it would be too expensive to hold a state-wide upper house by-election every time a vacancy arose.

Therefore political parties usually nominate a party member for Parliament to elect to fill the vacancy. For example The Shooters Party Member of Parliament John Tingle resigned

from the NSW State Parliament Upper House in 2006 because of illness. This vacancy was filled by members of Parliament electing a Shooters Party member to serve out the remainder of Mr Tingle’s term (AAP, 2006). Similarly when Christian Democratic Party Member of Parliament Elaine Nile resigned from the NSW State Parliament Upper House because of illness, members of Parliament elected Rev. Dr. Gordon Moyes, who was a member of the Christian Democratic Party, to fill the vacancy in 2002 (Moyes,2005).

4. Why are elections always held on a Saturday in Australia?

The Commonwealth Electoral Act specifies polling must take place on a Saturday. In England, where voting is not compulsory, elections are usually held on a Thursday, avoiding people who go away for the weekend missing out on voting.

5. a) Why do we use pencils for voting? The Commonwealth Electoral Act says that pencils must be provided to voters.

Green (2004) says that “pencils are cheaper, can be sharpened if they go blunt and are less likely to be stolen” (Green, 2004).

b) But doesn’t this make it easier for someone else to change a vote, by using an eraser, for example?

Ballot boxes are guarded by a polling official. Once the ballot papers are taken out of the ballot box after 6pm when polling booths close, workers who are counting the votes are heavily supervised by members of political parties called scrutineers who have permission to enter the counting area and make sure that the votes are being counted correctly and that no dishonest worker changes a vote, by using an eraser, for example. As voters are advised to get a new ballot paper if they make a mistake, a ballot paper which looked like it had been changed by someone using an eraser would be treated suspiciously.

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c) What happens to all the pencils afterwards?

Peita Mamo who is an Electoral Officer at the Australian Electoral Commission says they are “reused and recycled” (Mamo,2004).

6. Does the Governor – General vote in the federal election? As an Australian citizen, aged over 18 years old it is compulsory for the Governor Gerneral to vote. However, Election Analyst, Anthony Green writes “I am advised that the Governor General’s office writes to the local returning officer at each election stating reasons why he is unable to vote. In the past, the returning officer has ruled the Governor –General’s reason for not voting is a valid and sufficient excuse and therefore waived the fine for not voting” (Green, 2004).

7. If the Australian Labor Party is successful at the federal election in 2007 the federal government and all the state and territory governments will be controlled by the same party. Has this ever happened in Australia in the past?

This has happened for a little over a year in 1969/1970 when the Federal and all six state governments (there were no territory governments at the time) were in Liberal hands. The current situation of six state Labor governments and two territory Labor governments has never happened before in Australia (Green,2004).

8. Who are all those people that hand out material at polling booths on election day as people go to vote and are they paid?

These people are usually members of political parties or relatives and friends supporting the candidate who is standing for election. They are under the direction of a booth captain who makes sure that each gate of the school, for example, has someone handing out how to vote cards and that no voter is missed. They are volunteers.

9. a) What is a secret ballot? A secret ballot is a voting method in which voters mark their choices in privacy.

b) Has voting always been conducted in secret?

No. Voting has occurred under open voting where “ the voter wrote on a piece of paper – any piece of paper – the name of the candidate he preferred and his own name. This was handed to the returning officer who read out the name chosen and asked the voter if that was his preference. The clerk wrote in the poll book the name of the voter and his choice. The piece of paper went into a box so that it could be examined later if there was a challenge to the result. All this happened in public and anyone could easily discover how someone had voted” (Hirst,2006,p.3).

The secret ballot was introduced in Victoria in 1856. Australia was the first country to use the secret ballot, known as the “Australian ballot” (Hirst, 2006).

c) Can people who are blind experience our “secret ballot” system and thus have their vote kept secret?

In the past, people who are blind have had to rely on relatives, friends or a polling official to complete the ballot paper.

A trial of a new electronic voting computer system will take place in 2007 which will allow blind voters to vote unassisted and independently for the first time (Sumegi,2007), benefiting about 300, 000 people with vision impairment (Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, 2007).

Dawson Ko who has tried the electronic voting system has said: “at the last state election, I had to listen to the names of candidates read out to me, and then instruct the person how to vote on my behalf. Sometimes I’d feel like I had to justify my selections to them. It’s not a great feeling” (Ko,2007).

49

10. a) Who was the first female prime minister in the world?

Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) became the world’s first female prime minister in 1960 (Need to know – Women in politics, 2006).

b) Has Australia ever had a female Prime Minister? No. But Australia has had female premiers. The first female premier was Dr Carmen Lawrence in Western Australia.

11. a) Have politicians in Australia always been paid to do their job?

No. Members of both houses of the colonial parliaments carried out their duties on a volunteer basis and did not receive any money. During this period politicians in London did not get paid either. (Suter,2007).

b) How much does Prime Minister John Howard get paid?

As at June 2006, the annual salary of Mr Howard was $309,270 (Mitchell,2006). However like other politicians Mr Howard will continue to get paid when he leaves politics as he will receive a lifetime pension and be entitled to free travel.

12. Has an Australian politician ever been assassinated?

Yes. John Newman, NSW State Member for Cabramatta was assassinated in 1994. He is the only Australian politician to be assassinated. (Legal Studies HSC Syllabus link: Focus Study-Crime – Offences against the State).

Joe Alvaro All Saints Catholic Senior College 10 October 2007

References

AAP (2006), “MP with cancer calls it quits”, The Sydney Morning Herald, 3 May 2006

Crook, F (2007), “Unseemly dispatch of war hero and toff”, The Daily Telegraph, 5 March 2007,p.59

Green, A (2004), Anthony Green’s Election Guide, viewed 10 October 2007, www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2004/items/2004/

Hirst, J (2006), Making Voting Secret,Victoria Electoral Commission,Melbourne www.vec.vic.gov.au/files/SelectionsNmbr11.pdf

Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, The right to vote is not enjoyed equally by all Australians, viewed 10 October 2007, www.humanrights.gov.au/human_rights/ Jaensch, D (1984), An Introduction To Australian Politics,Longman Cheshire, Melbourne

Ko, Dawson (2007), “Putting ‘secret’ back into the secret ballot”, Burwood Scene, September 2007

Legal Studies HSC Stage 6 Syllabus (1999), NSW Board of Studies http://boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_hsc/pdf_doc/legalstudies_syl.pdf Mamo,P (2004), Interview with Pieta Mamo, The Sydney Morning Herald, 6 October 2004

Mitchell,A (2006), MPs to get pay rise at twice the going rate, The Sun-Herald, 25 July 2006,p.13

Moyes,G (2005), Leaving A Legacy – The Autobiography Of Gordon Moyes, Ark House Press, North Sydney

Need to know-Women in politics, Sunday Morning Post, 22 January 2006

NSW Department of Education and Training (2003), Quality Teaching in NSW public schools http://scs.une.edu.au/JanC/EDLT%20111,%202008/Wk3%20E-Portfolio/Qualty%20Teaching%20in%20NSW%20PS.pdf

Sumegi,J (2007), Blind voting to be trialled at election, Inner West Courier, 1 May 2007

Suter, K (2007), We keep on making allowances for MPs, The Daily Telegraph, 3 April 2007,p.43

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