Laulon Research Consortium

The Laulon Research Consortium has been created to undertake larger educational research and evaluation projects. The consortium comprises:

	Graeme Jane, BA, Dip Ed, B Ed, MBA Graeme Jane is a Director of Laulon Management, Education and Technology Solutions, a Senior Research Associate (Honorary) in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne,, an Associate of the Assessment Research Centre (University of Melbourne) and a Co Director of the Certain Knowledge consultancy group. He has extensive leadership and management experience. Prior to the establishment of Laulon Management, Education and Technology Solutions in 1994, Mr Jane was Director, Curriculum and Assessment/Operations Branch, Board of Studies, Victoria (1991 – 1993), giving him an in-depth knowledge of the work of assessment authorities. Profile
	Dr Jean Russell BA, PhD, BEd, FAPsS Dr. Jean Russell is a Principal Fellow and Associate Professor in the Centre for Applied Educational Research and the Centre for Post-compulsory Education and Life-long Learning (University of Melbourne) an educational consultant. She was formerly the General Manager of the Southern Metropolitan Region and Regional Director of Western Port Region in the Victorian Department of Education. She also brings to her current research and developmental work experience from various earlier roles as secondary teacher in government schools, psychologist, tertiary academic, teacher educator and chairperson or member of a variety of committees and inquiries in the fields of psychology and education. Profile
	Peter Cole, B. Comm, B. Ed and M. Ed. Peter is a former senior executive of the Victorian Department of Education and has extensive management and strategic leadership experience within the education sector. In 1995, Peter established PTR Consulting Pty Ltd an educational consulting company and in 1998 established EdStaff Pty Ltd a national and international educational recruitment company. Profile
	Vic Zbar, B.Ec, Dip.Ed. Vic Zbar is a consultant and writer specialising in educational consulting and evaluation, leadership and organisational development within Australia and internationally. After nine years as a high school teacher of economics and history, Vic spent six years as a full time elected teacher union official. This included one year as President of the Teachers' Federation of Victoria. In 1988 Vic joined the State Board of Education as a Project Director responsible for overseeing major research and development undertaken on behalf of the Minister for Education. In 1989 he became the principal adviser to the Chief Executive of the Victorian Education Department. Profile
	Graham Marshall, B.A., Dip. Ed. Graham Marshall is a Senior Research Associate (Honorary) in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne. He has been involved in a variety of policy development and other projects, together with connected research, at a school, regional and state level in Victoria. He has been working on leadership development with Victorian schools since mid 2001 and with leadership development programs in Australia, Hong Kong and the United States. From 2001 to 2005 he has worked on a range of school improvement programs with a large number of schools and their leadership teams in both the Government and Catholic systems in Victoria. He is currently working on a national executive leadership development program with a Melbourne University team in conjunction with the Hay Group. Profile

Given the extensive experience and expertise of members of the Laulon Research Consortium, the consortium specialises in undertaking commissioned research in the following areas:

• Adult, Community and Further Education
• International Education
• Post-compulsory education including qualifications development and design
• School Education
• Vocational education
• o Careers in Education

In addition, the Laulon Research Consortium is able to evaluate the effectiveness of policy and program initiatives that cross provider boundaries such as schools and TAFE, schools and industry and schools and communities.

The Laulon Research Consortium researchers are all highly experienced educational researchers who have a breadth and depth of experience and knowledge about the operation of and issues confronting education systems. These researchers are colleagues and have teamed to best suit each research/evaluation project for each research assignment.

The Laulon Research Consortium researchers bring a wealth of experience to any research project, namely, direct involvement in:

• the design, implementation, review and audit of aspects of the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE)
• direct involvement in the development and review of the Victorian Curriculum and Standards Framework (CSF)
• the review of curriculum standards documents nationally and internationally
• the design for the Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS)
• the design, implementation and evaluation of programs such as the Middle Years Research and Development project
• the design of the Victorian Department of Education and Training (DE&T) School Accountability Framework
• conducting school reviews for the DE&T School Accountability Framework
• the development of the DE&T Capital Investment and Access Planning Policy
• the design and evaluation of the VET in Schools program
• the review of the operation of the Achievement Improvement Monitor (AIM) and the VCE assessment program
• evaluating senior secondary curriculum for the Hong Kong government
• undertaking reviews for curriculum authorities nationally and in UK, USA, Western Africa, Indonesia, Azerbaijan and Hong Kong.

Projects

Following is a sample of reports that consortium members have provided for the Department of Education and Training and the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority:

• Ultanet Coaches (DEECD)- Evaluation of the Schools for Innovation and Excellence Initiative 2008-09 – Ultranet Coaches (Jane).
• Joint/shared facilities arrangements and collaborative curriculum delivery arrangements between government and non-government schools (DEECD) - a statewide mapping and recording of all existing joint /shared facilities arrangements; and all collaborative curriculum delivery arrangements between government and non-government schools (Jane, Griffiths, Zbar)
• Reducing the Regulatory Burden on Schools- Stakeholder Consultation Project (DEECD) – Identification of key areas of regulation and administrative activity where there was potential to reduce the burden on schools (Griffiths, Jane, Cole)
• Evaluation of the Department of Education’s approach to encouraging innovation (DE&T) – a review of strategies for promoting innovation in schools, including analysis of national and international practice, evaluation of case studies of innovative practice in selected Victorian schools and development of an approach to promoting innovation in Victorian schools and to engaging the corporate and philanthropic sectors in educational innovation (Jane, Griffiths).
• Review of the Implementation and Outcomes of the Designated Bilingual Programs in Primary and Secondary Schools, (DE&T) a quantitative and qualitative review of the implementation and outcomes of the Designated Bilingual Programs in primary and secondary schools in terms of use of resources, the impact of the program on student learning outcomes and the attitudes of teachers and parents to the programs (Jane, Griffiths, Russell, Nicholas)
• Evaluation of the Targeted School Improvement Project, (DE&T) a three year qualitative evaluation of the implementation processes and the impact of the Targeted School Improvement Project (Jane, Griffiths, Cole)
• Review of the provision of curriculum licensing services to offshore international schools, (DE&T and VCAA) a review, designed to assess the strategic and commercial opportunities available to the Victorian Government in the provision of curriculum licensing services to international schools, and recommend on whether such opportunities ought be pursued and how (Jane, Griffiths, Zbar Cole).
• Middle Years Policy Statement, (DE&T) a middle years policy and practice statement was developed following broad consultation with curriculum directors and academics who were brought together on three occasions to respond to specific propositions and questions about middle years schooling that the researchers had designed (Zbar, Cole and Mackay).
• Teaching workforce models and trends literature review, (DE&T) this report was prepared as input to the development of a long-term workforce strategy by the Boston Consulting Group on behalf of the Victorian Government, grounded in an understanding of how teaching is likely to change in the future. (Zbar and Marshall).
• VELS Comparability Study, (VCAA) an analysis to provide evidence and expert advice in relation to the comparability of the standards and learning focus statements in five learning domains consisting of English, Mathematics, Communication, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Thinking of the Victorian Essential Learning Standards to four or five other national and international curriculum documents for each domain (Jane, Zbar, Griffiths, Cole).
• Analysis of Curriculum and Standards Documents in the Compulsory Years, (VCAA) this report required the researchers to evaluate Victoria’s Curriculum and Standards Framework (CSF) documents in terms of world’s best practice and to recommend reforms to the CSF to ensure that it achieved its learning purposes. It involved extensive desk research, an analysis of case studies of best practice from other jurisdictions, and an international literature research (Jane, Griffiths, Cole, Mackay).
• Investigation of ways to increase the flexibility of VCE delivery, (VCAA) a qualitative analysis of how to make the VCE more flexible and more consistent with both the spirit and the letter of the Premier’s goals and targets for education and training (Jane, Griffiths, Cole, Mackay).
• Classroom Use of a Learning Management System, (Catholic Education Office, Melbourne) a qualitative (using online questionnaires) action research project to determine whether the use of the learning management system (myclasses) improves teaching and learning in individual classrooms and whether the use of the learning management system for intra-school collaboration improves student learning (Russell).

Research skills

Laulon Research Consortium members all have excellent analytical skills and the ability to synthesise material into relevant themes and issues. The above projects provide evidence of the consortium’s ability to interpret research findings and synthesise material inform policy development, to identify best practice for practitioners and to inform the review and refinement of educational programs.

The consortium has a strong history of developing research designs (that detail the research questions, the research methodology to be used) and for larger projects, a Project Plan that details how the project is to be implemented and the Risk Plan associated with the project. For these large projects, the PRINCE2 project management methodology is used.

The Laulon Research Consortium researchers have a wealth of experience in the specific research methodologies required by educational research projects. Following is a summary of projects that have involved using different research methodologies:

Successful delivery of research services

The Laulon Research Consortium has a long record of providing research teams with appropriate expertise and experience for each project. Every research project completed by the Laulon Research Consortium has been delivered on time and within budget and has been positively received by the client.

One of the greatest strengths of the Laulon Research Consortium is its ability to provide research reports that are well written and appropriate for different audiences. All consortium members are experienced presenters to small and large groups.