The project is led by the University of Tasmania in partnership with the Australian Catholic University and with the support of five additional universities (University of Queensland, University of Notre Dame Australia (Fremantle), Macquarie University, Flinders University, The University of Sydney) and two peak principals' associations (Australian Primary Principal’s Association (APPA), Australian Secondary Principals Association (ASPA)). The research is funded for three years 2018 – 2020.

Objectives

The objectives of the PASL project are to:

• Determine best-practice and expand evidence-based approaches that enhance student STEM engagement and outcomes through the professional development of principals as successful STEM leaders.
• Develop high quality and accessible resources (e.g. for principals to build their understanding of the concepts, skills and practices related to STEM disciplines; to lead initiatives promoting STEM teaching and learning; to foster a STEM positive school culture) and a supporting mentoring model to be made available beyond the life of the project.
• Evaluate both the impact of the resources and the project processes and share lessons learned to inform future policy and practice.

Outcomes

PASL will deliver a set of three high quality and accessible programs of professional learning (PL) for developing the capabilities of principals for leading school-wide ongoing enhancement of STEM teaching and learning. The programs will draw from case studies of effective practice and will expand evidence-based approaches to STEM leadership and improving STEM capability of students.

Overview of the Project

The PASL project responds to the need for a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skilled workforce to ensure Australia remains globally competitive. The Australian Government is committed to increasing the STEM capability of schools and for increased enrolments in STEM related subjects in schools to ensure young Australian have the skills they need to live and work in a globalised world.

Within our schools, principals are key to creating environments in which teachers can succeed or fail in improving STEM learning outcomes in our schools. There is an increasing array of resources that focus on developing STEM skills for both students and teachers, but little that focus on principals. To complement and ensure these resources are effectively harnessed, the PASL project will develop a robust approach to support principals to effectively drive whole-of-school collaborative effort in STEM engagement and learning outcomes. This will involve building on their leadership skills and supporting them to acquire an appropriate level of STEM capability, to enable them to provide effective leadership in STEM education.

The PASL research project will consist of three work streams:

Work stream 1: March 2018 – Jan 2019

Research (including identifying best practice STEM leadership approaches) to inform the development of professional learning modules/resources and a supporting mentoring approach to principals as STEM leaders

Work stream 2: May 2018– June 2020

Develop and pilot the professional learning modules and mentoring resources in the PASL research project with an estimated 210 primary and secondary school principals or assistant principals across sectors across Australia.

Work stream 3: Whole of project

Over the life of PASL, monitor and evaluate two aspects of the research project: the effectiveness of professional learning programs, modules, resources and supporting mentoring approaches for principals; and the conduct of the PASL research project. Monitoring and evaluation of the project will focus, therefore, on the extent to which the project:

1. Develops and trials best practice approaches to increasing principals’ capabilities to lead STEM in their schools;
2. Makes available high quality and accessible resources for the development of STEM capability; and
3. Undertakes a process of national collaboration with partnering institutions, school clusters and principals which enables the development, trial and dissemination of project objectives.

Project Directors

	Professor Kim Beswick University of Tasmania, TAS
	Associate Professor Sharon Fraser University of Tasmania, TAS
	Professor Vince Geiger Australian Catholic University, QLD

Project Team Members:

	Professor Chris Branson Australian Catholic University, QLD
	Associate Professor Julie Clark Flinders University, SA/NT
	Ms Lorraine Day Notre Dame, WA
	Professor Garry Falloon Macquarie University, NSW
	Dr Derek Hurrell Notre Dame, WA
	Dr Jenny Martin Australian Catholic University, VIC
	Dr Jodie Miller University of Queensland, QLD
	Andrew Pierpoint President, Australian Secondary Principals’ Association
	Associate Professor Stephen Viller University of Queensland, QLD
	Professor Helen Watt The University of Sydney, NSW/ACT
	Dennis Yarrington President, Australian Primary Principals Association
	Dr Vesife Hatisaru University of Tasmania, TAS

Thank you for your interest in becoming a PASL Critical Friend. The PASL critical friends document outlines the requirements and expectations of the role.

In order to participate in the project, you will need to download and complete the volunteer work checklist, and return it via email to the PASL project manager for our records: PASL.Project@utas.edu.au

The Becoming a Critical Friend in PASL document provides you with some guidelines about participating as a critical friends with principals undertaking the professional learning component of the project. Any queries about this information should be directed to Dr Gail Dennett through her email address: gaildennett@gmail.com

• PASL critical friends [PDF 60.6 KB]
• Becoming a critical friend in PASL [PDF 319.4 KB]
• Volunteer-Worker-Checklist_PASL_criticalfriends [DOCX 69.3 KB]

• Department of Education and Training (DET)
• Partner Universities:
  • Australian Catholic University
  • Flinders University
  • Macquarie University
  • Notre Dame University of Australia (Fremantle)
  • The University of Sydney
  • The University of Sydney
  • University of Queensland
• Principals’ Association Partners:
  • Australian Primary Principals Association
  • Australian Secondary Principals Association