An award-winning education expert is taking aim at reversing what he warns is a tendency for students to scoff at the sciences in favour of other subjects. As career options, sciences have become a more unlikely choice for many because ...
More »In The Classroom
Students are the key to outcomes, so get their input
Australia is not alone in analysing its school education system and questioning its future directions based on national and international test results. Over the past few years, I have been a member of two OECD review teams that have examined ...
More »The ‘difficult’ children need teachers the most
"They’re never going to do well on NAPLAN or any other goddamned level of academic excellence, but they still matter.” That’s Maggie Dent, a former high school English teacher – now an author and parenting specialist – calling on teachers, ...
More »Kids’ sleep guidelines spell out shut-eye
New guidelines show how much shut-eye children should be getting. The recommendations range from up to 16 hours daily for babies to at least eight hours for teens. They come from a panel of experts and give parents fresh ammunition for ...
More »Five tips for getting girls into STEM for good
The gender imbalance in STEM fields is well documented. The need for more women in physics, engineering and computer science-related professions – for example – is being pushed by universities, industry and, in this election cycle at least, politicians. But while STEM ...
More »Children design own school, based on a treehouse
It’s not every day that kids get to design the school they learn in. But that’s exactly what the students of Bendigo’s Golden Square Primary School did. Now the school resembles a treehouse. When architects K2LD were commissioned to design ...
More »Measure students’ soft skills: Mitchell Institute
A university think tank wants the soft skills of schoolchildren to be measured, including critical thinking ability, work ethic and sense of community responsibility. The report Education data: Harnessing the potential, from Victoria University’s Mitchell Institute, states that these attributes should ...
More »Ritalin linked to higher heart disease risk in kids
The controversial hyperactivity drug Ritalin has been linked to an increased risk of heart rhythm problems. A new study found that the drug frequently used for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is associated with an increased risk of abnormal heart ...
More »‘Didn’t you have the Down Syndrome test?’
Catherine* is on the bus with her son, a boy with Down Syndrome. Another woman, Amy* strikes up a conversation with her and they begin chatting; the topic turns to their children. Amy also has kids, none with disabilities. As ...
More »Researchers find 74 genes linked to educational attainment
Brain scientists have isolated 74 genes linked to high educational attainment, though they also said getting top marks may simply be a by-product. The research, published in the journal Nature, found these genes have a role in the brain’s development of ...
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