In the early 1970s across the two major contributors of educational direction, the US and the UK, there were two significant and influential bodies of work that became the shapers of provision for students with special educational needs. In the ...

Schools regularly create artificial barriers that prevent potentially capable students of completing rigorous upper school courses. These include requirements for A grades in certain subjects at year 10, in order to take a particular subject in years 11 and 12. ...

The furore following the recent announcement that the Jenny Craig chief executive, Amy Smith, would address a gathering of hundreds of girls’ school teachers has once again brought the uncomfortable issue of corporate presence in schools to light. The public ...

The Attorney-General has moved to set up a National Children's Commissioner who will ensure there is an independent, child-focused voice to advocate for children and young people at the national level. "We want to give kids the best start in ...

The discipline of education seems to never be far from the spotlight of political and community focus. We see frequent calls from politicians, parents, economists and industry leaders to improve school learning outcomes by improving the quality of teachers. It ...

Remember when you were a child? Remember what it felt like to ‘squish’ paint around a piece of paper? What it felt like to dance and sing along to your favourite TV characters, whether they were bears, birds or dinosaurs? ...

In 2011 ACARA released the 2010 Report National Assessment Program – Civics and Citizenship Year 6 and 10 Report. By any standards the results were dismal. But for anyone who believes that the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young ...

Over recent years, the education system of Finland has emerged as being amongst the best in the world. Reasons given usually include a small and somewhat homogeneous population, community respect for education as a public good, local autonomy for schools ...

A recent discussion of Dr Chris Sarra’s Stronger Smarter Program on Big Ideas (ABC Radio National) addressed the relationship of high expectations to attitudinal change in an indigenous school community. In building high expectations within a community of teachers, positive ...

Where did the notion of a “self-managed school (SMS)”, school based management (SBM), locally empowered schools, charter schools or independent public schools begin? Professor John Smyth of Flinders University gives us a lead. In a 1999 interview by Nick Davies ...