The son of a former state Liberal MP (his mother) and a past party vice-president (his father), Dan Tehan has politics in his veins. His rapid ascent – from local federal MP in 2010 to government front bencher in 2016 – ...
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Amid #libspill, NSW teachers cry out for funds
How would schools fare under a Peter Dutton-led government? According to the NSW Teachers Federation, they couldn't do much worse than the status quo. The union is using the battle for leadership of the Liberal party to highlight one of ...
More »What’s a god got to do with it? Theistic evolution beliefs decline among students
First-year biology students are “rapidly abandoning” beliefs in theistic involvement in human origins. That’s according to annual polling of university students on their views on evolution and creationism. Researchers asked UNSW Sydney biology students to circle one of the following: ...
More »Guide to help young people #chatsafe online about suicide
Young people often turn to social media to talk about suicide-related thoughts and behaviours but have had limited access to guidance on how to do so safely. Now, they – along with teachers and parents – have access to a set of guidelines focused ...
More »NAPLAN authority attempts to quell data set concerns
Parents and teachers will be able to compare the standardised NAPLAN test results of students who took the exams online with those who used traditional pen and paper. The national assessment body says its data analysts have confirmed the two ...
More »What might help would-be psychopaths
We need to talk about Kevin. Kevin Khatchadourian is a 15-year-old boy who committed a massacre at his high school and killed his father and sister. Growing up, he exhibited early signs of psychopathy: chronic unrest during infancy, failure to ...
More »School’s out for ever? PISA shows decline in uni expectations
School's out for summer School's out forever For an increasing number of Australian high schoolers, Alice Cooper's lyrics resonate. They especially do so with 15-year-olds from lower SES backgrounds, according to a new ACER report. Based on PISA data, the report collated ...
More »Give students more exposure to world of work: Mitchell Institute
Many students aren’t getting opportunities to connect with industry, and government must make efforts to bring the worlds of education and work closer together, a thinktank has argued. In its report Connecting the worlds of learning and work, the Mitchell ...
More »The dangers of ‘high-rise’ parenting
J.G. Ballard's 1975 novel High-Rise painted a nightmarish vision of the future. A microcosm of class warfare, residents of a tower turn on each other. As the social order decays, violence ensues. While real life high rises are more serene, they encapsulate hidden ...
More »Racism, classism, misinformation behind declining public school enrolments
What does it take to increase public school enrolments? A Chaser turned anti-waste advocate? The Public Education Foundation (PEF) is betting on Craig Reucassel and other high-profile, high-achieving Australians to inspire the return of students to government secondary schools, via their #ProudlyPublic campaign. ...
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