“A salad sandwich with no butter.” For students who have cut animal products out of their diet, this might be their only option at the school canteen come lunch time. A motion by the Australian Greens sought to expand food ...
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Exclusive: Mark Latham on teacher performance-based pay, incentivised school funding and graduate teacher standards
The prospect of rewarding high performing school teachers with performance-based pay is an evergreen issue that has recently re-entered public debate. In light of declining national student results in international testing, and concerns about whether entry standards for prospective teachers ...
More »Leadership in Education – Part 2: Patrick O’Reilly – Where have we gone wrong?
Despite record investment in education, Australian students’ literacy and numeracy levels have been steadily declining. This podcast series speaks with some of Australia’s K-12 education leaders and asks the key question: What, if anything, are we doing wrong? In episode ...
More »Compulsory school uniforms: academics sound off on hot-button topic
Some students might bemoan putting on the same shirt and pant combo every day to match their peers, while for others it might mean less stress that morning. The Conversation’s section editor for education Sasha Petrova asked five Australian academics ...
More »‘Why not you?’: Making higher education a choice for foster kids
There are close to 50,000 children living in out-of-home care in Australia. This experience will often represent a huge disruption to what other kids would consider normal life. Many will face profound challenges that will ripple through into adulthood. Thirty ...
More »School students using emojis for lesson feedback
School students around Australia are giving feedback to their teachers in the form of emojis. Classrooms are introducing the Student Feedback tool, which helps teachers poll how students are feeling, whether they’re keeping up with the lesson or if they ...
More »Generational bargain: the economic ties between older, younger Aussies
To give younger Australians a fair go, governments need to wind back age-based tax breaks for ‘comfortably off’ older adults. That’s according to the Grattan Institute’s new report. It revealed that older Australians today spend more and have higher incomes ...
More »Teacher misconduct unit flawed, parts should be abolished
A former NSW Crown Prosecutor has wrapped up his review of the state’s Department of Education Employee Performance and Conduct directorate (EPAC) – and confirmed “substantial flaws” in its investigations. EPAC was charged with investigating misconduct by Department employees and ...
More »Students with vision impairment: what teachers should keep in mind
Dr Melissa Cain and Melissa Fanshawe have a lot in common. They share a first name, are both university researchers and are mothers to 12-year old sons. But most remarkably, both of their sons have been diagnosed with the same ...
More »The ‘student voice’ in practice: who gets to speak?
In Victorian times, there was no such thing as ‘childhood’. Children were considered miniature, larval-stage adults, only a lot more stupid. Their right to independent expression and self-determination would have been seen as a preposterous joke. Today, almost 20 years ...
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