Doodling and other forms of ‘play’, properly directed, rely upon and build mental skills essential to educational success. Amanda doodles in her notebook, looking up from her desk enough to reassure her Year 3 teacher that she’s listening, even though ...

Australia’s leaders aren’t working to make people see the value of taking up foreign languages; it’s our job to change that. Let’s talk about foreign languages and language education. Or should we? Does anyone care about languages? It’s not an ...

The Opera House and other arts institutions are already working to instil innovative thinking in young minds but more can be done. Creativity is hot right now, a buzzword right up there with ‘innovation’ and ‘agility’. Beyond the buzz, though, ...

There are a handful of steps schools can take to improve delivery of the skills students need for tomorrow’s jobs. STEM is one of the most talked about acronyms in education circles at the moment, and for good reason. Australia ...

New results-focused initiatives are welcome but disunity over funding remains a contentious issue. The new Coalition schools policy, Quality Schools, Quality Outcomes, was announced without fanfare two days before the Budget. It is easy to see why. The main political ...

Witnessing students’ eyes light up when they understand a new concept or finally grasp one they’ve been struggling with is what we, as educators, strive for every day. But analysis of national and international testing programs tells us those “a-ha” ...

Timetabling methods have shifted from blackboards that endlessly change, to pieces of cardboard with lots of coloured pins, to hundreds of post-it notes on a whiteboard, and now timetabling software. But one thing remains the same: school timetables can be ...

The Australian Education Union’s State of Our Schools Survey 2016 has found that teachers feel a lack of preparation in meeting the needs of students with a disability, whilst principals said they ‘siphon’ funds to meet needs. It is clear pre-service ...

With the school year now in full swing across the country, it’s timely to look at one of the most challenging health issues we face: student suicide. Angela Byron was a newly minted principal, only six months into her first leadership role, ...

  When Leonie Falland was asked about her motivation for teaching and working in schools for 38 years, her response came easily: “I loved learning right from the time I was a toddler. When I was nearly 3, I packed a ...