Despite the reform agenda made at the two-day Education Council meeting in Alice Springs, the Australian Education Union (AEU) has labelled it Groundhog Day. The AEU believes Australia’s education system is stuck in a “time loop of bad policy, no ...
More »Education Council commits to goals and actions for ‘the coming decade’
After the release of December’s disappointing PISA results, student achievement, teacher quality, curriculum content and quality-assurance measures were destined to be on the table at the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration, which concluded on December 12. Here are some of ...
More »Researchers link high achievement to eating disorders in female students
Researchers at Monash University have found a link between academic performance and eating disorders among female students. The Australian-first study found that high-achieving female students who later developed eating disorders felt strong, positive emotions when they did well in their ...
More »Maths expert calls on academics to go back into the classroom – Podcast
Dr Majeda Awawdeh is a former high school teacher who exited the education sector after "15 years of frustration". In this podcast, she talks about some of the causes of Australian students' slide in maths across the years and considers ...
More »Alice Springs Mparntwe Declaration replaces Melbourne Declaration at ‘tense’ Education Council meeting
The Morrison government will prioritise Indigenous students’ education and outcomes after releasing the Alice Springs Declaration on Wednesday. This year's meeting was particularly timely, given Australia's sliding international ranking results and the lack of a silver bullet to address the ...
More »PISA was a low point but we’re still a nation of inventors
Despite what we constantly hear about tests like PISA and NAPLAN, a national invention competition suggests Australian kids can still think creatively and solve pressing world problems. Recently, national finalists gathered at Taronga Zoo in Sydney to present their inventions ...
More »Early childhood sector receives funding commitment ahead of Education Council meeting
A commitment of $46 million to support early childhood education and care (ECEC) has been announced by Federal Minister for Education Dan Tehan ahead of this week’s Education Council meeting in Alice Springs. The aim of the funding is to ...
More »Poor PISA results indicate a lack of ‘respect’ in Australian classrooms
A UNSW academic has pointed to classroom disruption and disrespect as key causes of Australia’s poor Programme for International Assessment (PISA) results this year. Associate Professor Jihyun Lee from the school of education said PISA measures the disciplinary or disruptive ...
More »Education sector’s response to latest PISA results – podcast
This week was all about Australia’s underwhelming 2018 PISA results, so I thought it would be appropriate to produce a 'response from the sector', a quick rundown of what Australia’s education experts think about the results. Dr Steven Lewis, a ...
More »Joanna Barbousas on the decline in interest in teaching: Podcast
A recent Indeed report concluded that searches for teaching jobs declined in 2019, with some states recording sharp dips. This follows an article in The Conversation last year lamenting the drop in first-preference applications in teaching, as well as a ...
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