Despite and sometimes because of NAPLAN, these teachers held strong views on explicit teaching of elements of writing, but approached these in different ways. Teachers were invited to select classroom artefacts pertaining to the teaching of writing in their English classes, compile individualised e-portfolios and reflect on these items in writing and in digitally conducted interviews, as well as elaborating on their broader philosophies and feelings about the teaching of writing. It developed a novel method of case study at a distance that required no classroom presence or school visits for the researchers and allowed a multi-sited and geographically dispersed design. This study investigated practices of English teachers in four secondary schools across different states, systems and regions. Yet there have been few studies that focussed on this key group, or on how pedagogical practices have been impacted in the teaching of writing in their classrooms. In secondary schools, English teachers are often made responsible for writing results in national testing. This research is one of the few studies to investigate the potential emotional impact that news coverage of education can have on media consumers. An exception to this general pattern of findings was that participants did not place as much importance upon the public perception of standardised testing and reported being less affected by negative or positive stories on that topic compared to the other education aspects. However, trust in the media reporting of educational issues was low. A high importance was placed upon the public perception of education by participants. Participants reported typically feeling demoralised by negative stories and inspired by positive stories. Overall, the participants reported a perception that news coverage of teachers, schools, the education system and standardised testing was generally negative in tone. This study examines Australian teachers (n = 268) and parents’ (n = 206) self-reported perceptions of education news coverage and how the coverage affects them. Through applied qualitative inquiry, drawing in particular on reflexive self-study, the paper explores one remote school's response to calls from governments for 'improvement'. This article draws primarily on the experiences of a school leader conducting an autoethnography, following their three-year tenure as a leader in a remote school. We also consider what this means for teachers, teaching in a remote site. Using an example of leading a remote Australian school, we consider if educational success for students in remote schools can be readily evidenced through standardised testing alone. This paper considers what neo-conservative policies around 'improvement' and 'success' - largely formed and mandated in metropolitan centres of education governance - mean for students living in remote locations. Improved educational outcomes are desirable for students in remote communities to broaden their future life choices. For those in remote Australian schools, it is an indicator that the further one lives from the metropolis, the less likely they are to be successful. The link between one's postcode and probable school 'success' is well recognised. We conclude with practical implications and recommendations about seeking public support for the seemingly unpopular national educational policy. That is, it needs to (a) provide a diverse range of incentives to promote people’s self-interest (incentive effect) (b) demonstrate good alignment with the core values, social norms, and attitudes of the given society (interpretative effect) and (c) build a consensus about the institutional use of the test results (institutional effect). Our results show empirical support for the incentive, interpretative, and institutional effects, which suggest ways that national testing program can be improved. We aim to provide tentative evidence about the way public perceptions about NAPLAN may be formed. Although there has been intense criticism of NAPLAN in educational policy debates in Australia, little scholarly efforts have been made to understand the underlying cognitive mechanisms that contribute to the public narrative about the national testing program.
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