Have you ever walked out of a class without having learned anything at all? Or maybe you were on the other end, watching your intricately planned lesson go off the rails because students didn’t prepare…
The Gonski reforms will mean different levels of funding for different schools according to a variety of factors.
AAP Image/Dan Peled
In an attempt to pressure state leaders on schools funding reform, prime minister Julia Gillard revealed new data showing the difference her package would make at the national and state level. The June…
Children are getting their (mis)information about some scientific concepts from mass media sources.
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“DNA is your blood in you, we can use DNA as evidence if someone’s been stabbed. We can run tests in suspects.” (Girl, 12, central Queensland)
“DNA has to do with blood types and fingerprints, it helps…
Wayne Swan’s budget has been disappointing for Labor’s education legacy.
AAP Image/Lukas Coch
The last Labor budget has seen the top half of the Education Revolution fizzle. The ideals that powered the 2009 Gillard policies are in fragments.
Demand-driven higher education will survive until the…
We’re understanding more about how the school funding reform will work, but there is one important question that goes unanswered.
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Last night’s federal budget had few big spending items, but one standout area was the A$9.8 billion school funding reform.
With most states still yet to sign on to the package, the budget papers reveal…
NAPLAN tests are only measuring a very small part of literacy and learning.
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Students across Australia in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 are currently sitting for the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) tests. These tests are supposedly designed to identify whether…
A Palestinian farmer and Israeli soldier clash in an olive grove. Can academics in other countries affect this situation by boycotting one side or the other?
AAP/Abed Al Hashlamoun
The news that famous physicist Stephen Hawking has decided to join the academic boycott of Israel has attracted some heated commentary.
Hawking pulled out of attending an Israeli conference in June, explaining…
For all its faults, NAPLAN is helping Indigenous education.
AAP Image/Melanie Foster
Federal education minister Peter Garrett confirmed late last week that education ministers from around the country had agreed to lift national efforts to improve Indigenous education results. Results from…
Science, like the benefits stemming from it, is international and should be viewed that way.
tuartpilbrow
The Australian government’s ironic and perverse decision to better fund schools at the expense of already-promised university funding would make for a good episode of the 1980s sitcom Yes, Prime Minister…
Getting the mix right: we need to take a closer look at the future of science education.
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Every now and then we manufacture a crisis in Australian school science.
People write reports. These recommend change, including curriculum change, and point out the ways in which current patterns of…
Are students “customers”? The answer is not so simple.
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With the rise of mass higher learning, tight public funding and intense competition for students, universities are often encouraged to see students as “customers”. But should they?
Commentators who criticise…
Universities Australia Chair Sandra Harding looks at the future of universities.
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Professor Sandra Harding, the Universities Australia chair and Vice-Chancellor of James Cook University addressed the National Press Club in Canberra today.
Here is a copy of her speech.
In his novel…
Let children run wild, run free: that’s the message of a new education movement called “unschooling”.
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What do you think about the idea of allowing your children to stay at home all day and do whatever they like? Do you think you could trust them to learn without teachers or parents telling them what, when…
The recent cuts to universities are only likely to make the health problem growing in the academic community worse.
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The consensus on the recent A$2.3 billion funding cuts to the tertiary sector is they will do more harm than good.
Plenty of commentators foresee diminishing quality of teaching and research, possible…
Education used to be about striving towards the light of knowledge but this is increasingly less important.
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It’s nothing new to say we have a problem in education. But I’m not here to discuss the usual gripes with teachers and test scores.
I believe we have a more fundamental problem with defining what we want…
There’s renewed debate around whether universities need to specialise in research or teaching.
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“We must give universities more freedom to focus on what they are good at… If that means that some universities want to focus significantly more on teaching, then they should confidently do so… Government…
The institution you come from shouldn’t be the main factor in research funding allocation.
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Increasingly, it’s not the quality of the research or researcher that is determining who gets funding in Australia’s universities but the reputation of the institutions they work for.
This is now reflected…
Genetics and quality teaching both play a role in education – but what matters more?
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To follow the public debate on why some children prosper in school and others falter, you’d think it was all down to teachers.
The media – from the New York Times to the Sydney Morning Herald – as well…
There are no short-term fixes to the long-term issues surrounding education in Australia.
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Everyone, it seems, has a “fix” for education. The government has staked improvement on extra funding while others say a higher bar for teaching graduates is needed, and some view the prestige of the profession…
TV portrayals of forensic science sometimes border on the criminal.
Derek Bridges
You’ve heard of the so-called CSI effect – the manner in which the exaggerated portrayal of forensic science on crime television shows such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation influences public perception…
An essay you submit in an online course might not be graded by humans but by computers instead.
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Let us consider the following scenario.
You have enrolled in a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) offered by a world renowned university.
After four weeks of solid work you have completed your first assignment…
The traditional grading system is now obsolete.
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By Geoff Masters, Australian Council for Educational Research
When we were growing up, my father occasionally stood each of us against the back door and marked our height on the door in pencil. He wrote our initials and the date alongside each mark. For us, it was…
A universal student ID could be on way for Australian students.
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Is a universal (and cradle to grave) identity number on the way for all Australian students?
The government is now seeking to create a mandatory universal identifier for all Vocational Education and Training…
Schools funding has been a hot topic this week: here’s all you need to know on this important election issue.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
This week you might have heard the word “Gonski” even more than usual.
That’s because the Gillard government finally announced how it would pay for its school funding reform in the lead up to its meeting…
The Prime Minister was unable to get agreement with the states on the government’s school funding reforms.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
The A$14 billion federal government proposal based on David Gonski’s call for a better school funding system has not been agreed to at this week’s COAG meeting. In fact, none of the states and territories…
The Business Council of Australia’s call for long-term thinking is moving in the right direction, but wants both expensive spending programs and lower taxes.
There is much to consider when thinking about our future as a nation. We are a small, resource-rich, open economy facing a volatile global environment. We are particularly vulnerable to the impact of climate…
Should the states sign up the federal government’s proposed school funding reforms?
AAP Image/Julian Smith
Australian heads of government will gather in Canberra tomorrow to deliberate on the Commonwealth’s proposals for school funding reform.
At the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting, the government…
Selling the message: there’s a disconnect between what voters want, and what Labor wants out of education.
AAP Image/Lukas Coch
On Sunday the federal Labor government announced reforms to school funding, that aimed to finally put in place the recommendations of the Gonski review.
The proposed reforms – worth A$14.5 billion – are…
The reforms announced this week to school funding don’t make for a fairer system.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s announcement yesterday about a new school funding and resource standard does not deliver on Gonski’s promise.
Gillard said that the plan would mean “better resourcing and…
Prime Minister Julia Gillard is trying to get all the states on board to realise her schools funding reform plan.
AAP Image/Lukas Coch
The Gillard government has two immediate problems with the politics of its A$14.5 billion education funding plan.
First, and most seriously, the six-year blueprint, which requires the states to pay one…
Tertiary education minister Craig Emerson yesterday announced significant changes to higher education funding.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
Anyone believing new tertiary education minister Craig Emerson was just minding the higher education shop until the election has been proved wrong by this weekend’s announcement of funding cuts.
About…
Vice Chancellor of Cambridge University, Sir Leszek Borysiewicz talks with one of our academic experts about the changing role of universities.
Cambridge University
To listen to the conversation between Leszek Borysiewicz and Lynn Meek, please see the link below. An edited transcript is available here.
Lynn Meek: Hello, I’m Professor Lynn Meek from the LH Martin…
Universities do have a role to play in helping developing countries.
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The following is based on the Monash Richard Larkins Oration given by Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, Vice-Chancellor of Cambridge University last night in Melbourne.
You can read and listen to our…
If you want to improve science education, standardised science literacy tests is not the way to go.
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The federal Labor government’s proposal to expand the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) franchise and include science literacy is not a surprising move.
Once national testing…
The Gonski recommendations on schools funding is no longer a political fight – it’s a moral one.
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In the lead up to negotiations with the states on schools funding reform, the government has armed itself by labelling the reforms as a moral issue.
It’s easy, of course, for a politician to bring an…
Here’s why the old teaching methods are not necessarily the best.
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Ongoing calls for a rejection of “intellectual fads” and a return to “more traditional teaching methods” seem to be ramping up in the education debate.
But if these advocates were talking about rejecting…
There is a danger that Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) may end up being more about money and less about education.
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The astonishing idealism and energy manifest in the advance of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) has taken the higher education world by storm.
Universities have been shaken to their foundations by…
Last week’s wholesale sackings of TAFE leaders is just another chapter in the chaotic story of the vocational reforms.
AAP Image/Joe Castro
On the eve of Good Friday, in apparent attempt to bury a bad news story, the Victorian government sacked seven of the chairs of its 14 standalone TAFEs and two more were to “retire”.
These sackings came…
Storytelling is increasingly being left behind in a crowded curriculum.
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With high stakes testing and a crowded curriculum, something fundamental is being left behind in education – storytelling.
Some might argue that speaking and listening have always been undervalued in…
It would be a mistake to assume that any private money funding research creates a conflict of interest.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
The research funding world is not often filled with controversy, but the story of indigenous academic Marcia Langton’s research funding has recently garnered a lot of attention.
Langton, who in her recent…
There’s lots of “problems” to be fixed in education, but what does the evidence say?
Teacher image from www.shutterstock.com
Over recent years we have seen a wave of angst about Australia’s school education.
The complex issue of teacher quality is, of course, part of the equation, but state governments are also concerned that…
There are other ways to improve undergraduate writing that don’t involve teaching grammar explicitly.
Writing image from www.shutterstock.com
University students across the nation will be handing in their first assignments of the academic year over the next few weeks.
Academic staff will sigh, as they do every semester: “my students can’t write…
The vast majority of childcare workers are women.
Childcare image from www.shutterstock.com
The federal government’s announcement this week on pay equity for the early childhood workforce is an important step for the childcare sector.
But in the long term, it will provide little more than a…
What should students really expect after doing a PhD?
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When it comes to PhD graduates, it’s clear that supply now far outstrips demand. It used to be that doing a PhD almost guaranteed you an academic position but now, any guarantees are long gone.
My own…
Online learning offers plenty of opportunities but only if it’s done right.
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By Shanna Smith Jaggars, Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia University and Thomas Bailey, Community College Research Center, Teachers College, Columbia University
Higher education, we’re told, is rapidly heading towards huge transformation and technological disruption.
Advocates of online education promise that advances in online learning technologies – by permitting…
New tests could be in store for trainee teachers to demonstrate their emotional intelligence.
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With the newly announced federal government reforms to teacher training announced this week, emotional intelligence is now firmly on the agenda for trainee teachers.
Under the proposed rules, prospective…
The announcement this week of funding for Victorian TAFEs won’t make up for previous cuts.
AAP Image/Julian Smith
There might be a new premier in Victoria, but it seems there’s still no good news for TAFEs. The $200 million in structural adjustment funding announced this week is certainly welcome, but it is simply…
What is it that we’re trying to fix in teacher education?
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The past week has been a tumultuous time for university education faculties. First the NSW government announced minimum entry requirements for teaching degrees, and then the federal government trumped…
There is a clear link between communication disorders and young offenders – but what can we do about it?
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Half of Australia’s young male offenders have a clinically significant, previously unidentified language deficit.
It’s a shocking figure that comes after ten years worth of research into the oral language…
The Coalition looks set to only tinker around the edges of higher education policy.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
What should universities expect from a Coalition government if Tony Abbott wins the September election? In his address to the Universities Australia conference in Canberra, the signals were fairly reassuring…
In his new role as tertiary education minister Chris Bowen said enroling more disadvantaged students would not drag down quality.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
Quality in education is something that seems so obvious – until you try to define it.
This week the new Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Science and Research Chris Bowen said that “the quality…
Copyright law could make the job of creating Massive Open Online Courses more difficult.
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Another university has jumped on the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) bandwagon this month, with the Australian National University joining up with Harvard venture edX.
In ANU’s case, it will enable…
Funding schools to reduce class size is not a waste of money.
Class image from www.shutterstock.com
The Gonski reforms to school funding are front and centre in this election year. But despite their prominence, much of the plan – including who will pay – is yet to be decided.
But while we watch what…
Homophobic bullying is a problem that needs urgent attention in Queensland schools.
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There has been a series of disturbing homophobic bullying incidents in Queensland schools in recent months.
Some of the cases reported in the media included a Brisbane student being allegedly told by…
We can’t go backwards on early childhood education, it’s just important.
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The Labor government is not often celebrated for its policy achievements, but there has been one area where it deserves some recognition – early childhood education.
It started reforms to the sector in…
Some pre-schools and early childhood centres are teaching young children self-defence – but is this ok?
Child/self-defence image from www.shutterstock.com
When you think of martial arts, you probably think of bare fists and bloodied faces, not a four year-old in a child care centre.
But martial arts and self-defence programs do appear to be growing in popularity…
Our religious education system is out-dated and it needs to change.
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It might come as a surprise to most Australians that our religious education system is not only out-moded but is doing damage to students, families and teachers.
Special Religious Instruction (SRI) is…
Allowing mining companies to help educate children is not without benefits, but it is problematic.
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The recent partnership announced between Nucoal Mining and Narara Valley High School in NSW has drawn some divided reactions.
The mining company says the aim of the new venture will be to improve the…
A PhD is never easy but is there a way to make it easier?
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Doing a PhD is a difficult business. Long hours, personal stress, institutional pressure to complete on time – and all this for what?
Increasingly a PhD alone does not guarantee an academic career. We…
In light of the Australian Crime Commission report into doping, we need to look at how sport scientists are taught.
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The report recently released by the Australian Crime Commission sent shock waves through the sporting world, implicating sport scientists and other support personnel in unethical doping practices.
The…
Are students really paying for their degrees in exchange for sharing their beds?
Degree image from www.shutterstock.com
This year has already seen a flurry of media commentary regarding the “sugar daddy” phenomenon, much of it self-generated for publicity reasons by sites such as SeekingArrangement.com.
Sugar daddies…
The PM has zoned in on education policy this election year, but maybe education needs less political attention, not more.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
By Adam Smith, Australian Council for Educational Research
Today, as part of an Australian Education Union (AEU) campaign, academics, business and political leaders have signed a letter urging state and federal governments to move on the Gonski reforms to school…
The future of higher education doesn’t look so bright.
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Higher education, 2060: academics are out of a job. All the brand name universities have made all their courses free online, easily doing away with one side of the teaching and learning equation.
Pretty…
Keeping students engaged in school for longer is a wise investment.
Student image from www.shutterstock.com
As students head back to school this year, it’s worth sparing a thought for the many students who won’t return. In fact, each year thousands of young people leave school without a Year 12 qualification…
Australia is one of the few developed nations to not require graduating high-school students to study maths.
Flickr/bootload
Australia is not doing well in the international literacy and numeracy attainment rankings and many rightly point out the funding issues, clearly identified in the Gonski Review, as central contributing…
Teacher education is typically the largest undergraduate program in most universities and is therefore a cash cow.
Cash cow image courtesy of www.shutterstock.com
Despite all the talk about improving the quality of teachers and teaching in Australia, the general downward slide of entry standards to undergraduate teacher training courses continues.
While the top…
Sorting high achieving students from their peers may be sending the wrong message.
AAP/Dean Lewins
Results released from a major Victorian study on student learning show high achieving children’s performance in tests is “flat-lining”.
The study, by Professor Patrick Griffin, followed 36,000 students…
Will open educational resources affect all stages of education?
Child computer image from www.shutterstock.com
By now, most of you have probably heard of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) – courses by universities like MIT and Stanford that are available for free online.
But what about Massive Open Online Kindergartens…
It’s time we looked at the idea of for-profit education in Australia.
EPA/Guillaume Horcajuleo
By Annette Rome, University of Melbourne and Adam Smith, Australian Council for Educational Research
For-profit education is something that really doesn’t exist in Australia… yet. But in many other countries around the world it has become a normal part of education and there are now many companies providing…
There have been two major reports this year looking into how university places are funded – so which was right?
Student money image from www.shutterstock.com
The past year has seen two major reports on the economics of higher education, each seeking to reform the way undergraduate study is financed.
The Grattan Institute’s Graduate Winners appeared in August…
An Indigenous MP in Western Australia has highlighted the tensions in Indigenous education around culture and.
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Last week the Western Australian Indigenous Labor MP, Ben Wyatt, told a conference in Perth that Aboriginal children in remote communities need a “full Western education”.
Wyatt went on to say that the…
New reports show Australian education is slipping, but what can be done about it?
Education image from www.shutterstock.com
The results of international literacy, numeracy and science tests released this week should be cause for alarm.
In what the minister for education Peter Garrett called “disappointing” results, the Progress…
Two new international reports on school performance should be put into perspective.
Education image from www.shutterstock.com
The recent release of Australia’s performance in the TIMMS (2011) and PIRLS (2011) test results has sparked much media comment about what this means for the quality of Australian education.
The focus…
The latest results of international testing in maths, science and reading means Australia’s education outlook does not look good.
Test image from www.shutterstock.com
By Sue Thomson, Australian Council for Educational Research
Prime Minister Julia Gillard in September set an ambitious goal for Australian education: to be ranked as a top-five country in reading, mathematics and science by 2025.
Clearly she is hoping to lift…
There’s still plenty to discover about how the brain works but what we know now is irrelevant to education.
Brain image from www.shutterstock.com
Neuroscience: the word oozes sophistication and intelligence – the very qualities we might want to nurture in our students, our children, our general populace.
Maybe that’s why many people involved in…
Changes in the level of children’s physical activity is not solely responsible for the obesity epidemic.
Brent Danley
As public health researchers who’ve worked with government, non-governmental organisations, schools, childcare organisations, families and children to understand the complexity of obesity and effective…
There’s no evidence that bootcamps on their own help young offenders.
Youth crime image from www.shutterstock.com
During Queensland’s recent election campaign, the then state opposition leader, Campbell Newman, promised to spend $2 million trialling the use of correctional boot camps to address the problem of young…
If information is everywhere, then how can we learn?
Technology image from www.shutterstock.com
The pub argument is dead. Google killed it with a little help from your smartphone. Instead of long fought debates about who’s right and who’s wrong, an answer is nearly always within easy reach.
With…
There’s been plenty of attention on NAPLAN testing this week, but ACARA’s Barry McGaw argues there needn’t be.
Test image from www.shutterstock.com
There has been much controversy this week over a study released by the Whitlam Institute claiming that NAPLAN testing is being treated as a high-stakes program that
is causing unnecessary stress among…
New legislation introduced in parliament today marks the beginning of reform of schools funding.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
Today the Australia Education Bill – the legislation following on from the Gonski review into school funding – was introduced into parliament.
In September this year, the government responded to the review…
The idea of a universities commission has been floated recently – but is it a good idea?
Universities image from www.shutterstock.com
There’s been a push recently in university circles for a new body to help govern the sector and act as a buffer between the universities and government.
Champions of the idea point to the Universities…
The imperative to remember information has been replaced with the imperative to remember where information is located.
parkieblues
When Nicholas Carr’s article “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” hit newsstands in the July/August 2008 edition of The Atlantic, the reaction was predictably vociferous.
The essay itself – a 4,175 word editorial…
Literacy and numeracy tests are having a negative impact on Australian students.
Test image from www.shutterstock.com
NAPLAN tests – the literacy and numeracy tests given to primary and secondary students – are causing health problems and promoting a culture of “teaching to the test”.
A national study released today…
NSW premier Barry O'Farrell needs to reform the law to give Sydney University more responsibility for its colleges.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
Why is the University of Sydney powerless to stop bullying behaviour in what the public sees as “its colleges”? This has been a constant refrain in recent weeks as the controversy surrounding the behaviour…
The coalition needs to think big on childcare if it’s going to fix twin problems of cost and quality.
Child play image from www.shutterstock.com
In announcing the terms of reference for a productivity commission inquiry into childcare, opposition leader Tony Abbott said “Australian families need a child care system that is not only affordable…
Free online courses from prestigious universities have caused a stir, but they won’t shut universities down.
Online education image from www.shutterstock.com
Last weekend, The Guardian ran an article entitled “Do online courses spell the end for the traditional university?” Had I been the one writing that article, it would have been precisely two letters long…
Despite a government target, students from poor backgrounds risk being left out of higher education.
University student image from www.shutterstock.com
According to the Federal Government, Australian public universities need to be more inclusive, particularly when it comes to enrolling poorer students.
They’ve set a target to have 20% of undergraduate…
There’s plenty of excitement around Duolingo – a new idea to learn languages while translating the web. But does it work?
Words image from www.shutterstock.com
Duolingo, a new free language-learning site, says it can help you learn a language for free while simultaneously using your learning exercises to translate the web.
A pretty big claim, but at the heart…
While young people in Australia might not have to deal with the extremes of the GFC, they are facing other challenges.
Youth image from www.shutterstock.com
A new report shows that one in four young Australians are not fully engaged in employment or training despite government targets aiming to get more young people qualified or into a job.
But compared to…
School students everywhere could look forward to no more homework.
Homework image from www.shutterstock.com
The recent decision by French President Francois Hollande to abolish homework from French schools has reignited the long running debate about homework.
This debate has been around for more than a century…
There are some powerful stories in the Anzac tradition but many more that are unknown to students.
Australian War Memorial
“What are your legs? Springs. Steel springs”.
Archy’s nervous mutterings before he sprints into gunfire are familiar in Australian history classes. So are the tale of Simpson and Duffy and their “bravest…
A recent case has meant some reform of Special Religious Instruction in Victoria, but there’s more to be done.
Religious instruction image from www.shutterstock.com
Last month, a Victorian tribunal found that the state department of education did not discriminate against children opting out of Special Religious Instruction (SRI) classes.
The plaintiffs – parents…
Why is it that we no longer teach the big story of how everything came to be?
Universe image from www.shutterstock.com
All human societies construct and teach creation myths or origin stories. These are large, extraordinarily powerful, but often ramshackle narratives that try and tell the story of how everything came to…
Education academics and teachers should be able to share ideas.
Seminar image from www.shutterstock.com
Apparently, teachers and principals have no need to hear about research on international education policy and are too sensitive to deal with “controversial” ideas.
Last week, the University of Melbourne…
Starting a conversation about sex early in a child’s education is important.
Image from www.shutterstock.com
When should sex education begin for children?
According to some parent groups who advised the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), not until grades 5 and 6. Under this pressure…
There’s too much scrutiny given to Muck Up Day – we need to let kids blow off steam.
Flickr/Jessica.James
“Most schools used to call it Muck Up Day, but we saw that as being something negative.”
So said year 12 co-ordinator Annette Hall of Presbyterian Ladies' College – one of many schools who have changed…
Teachers are taking their own steps to learn more about their profession through social media networks.
Flickr/Corey Leopold
It’s been a long time since I have been in a pub at 10.30am but that’s where you would have found me last Saturday at the Great Northern Hotel in Chatswood, Sydney.
I wasn’t there to get on the punt or…
There are still many questions left about the Future of Higher Education, but here’s some thoughts from our symposium.
Higher education image from www.shutterstock.com
Resisting technological change is futile, according to the Minister for Tertiary Education, Chris Evans. So how should Australian universities respond to the technological change of online education…
The Khan academy is trying to bring education to the world, but how?
Online learning image from www.shutterstock.com
From preschool to PhD, education is afflicted by a malaise. Many students, teachers, parents and politicians, feel that with all the effort and money spent, we should be doing better.
Salman Khan, founder…
For better or worse, the university experience has changed considerably over the past forty years.
University image from www.shutterstock.com
Before the second world war, a very small minority of the population in Western societies went to universities. Most were men, most were from the social elite.
From the late 1950s that changed. With a…
Squeezing a thesis into three minutes sounds impossible. But it’s an important skill to learn.
Lecture image from www.shutterstock.com
Imagine condensing a thesis – which would normally take nine hours to read aloud – into a presentation just three minutes long.
Today at the Australian and Trans-Tasman Three Minute Thesis competition…
Academics and universities might need to be careful of what they wish for with free online education.
Job image from www.shutterstock.com
FUTURE OF HIGHER EDUCATION: The rise of online and blended learning and the development of free online courses is set to transform the higher education sector. We’ve asked our authors how to remake the…
Massive open online education could be the answer to addressing community and industry needs.
Head image from www.shutterstock.com
FUTURE OF HIGHER EDUCATION: The rise of online and blended learning and the development of free online courses is set to transform the higher education sector. We’ve asked our authors how to remake the…
All the study in the world can’t prepare students for the reality of experiencing a landscape like Lake Pinaroo in the Sturt National Park.
Ric Raftis
Science disciplines – physics, biology, geology and so on – are often treated as discrete from one another. But when it comes to environmental science, students – and the scientists that they become…
Using technology to tackle plagiarism is important, but universities need to understand why students do it in the first place.
Student image from www.shutterstock.com
Trying to control and prevent plagiarism is a problem for all universities, and nearly all universities these days use some kind of technology to combat it.
But in a recent article on The Conversation…
A flexible online learning environment is what Australian university students want, so what’s getting in the way?
Student image from www.shutterstock.com
FUTURE OF HIGHER EDUCATION: The rise of online and blended learning and the development of free online courses is set to transform the higher education sector. We’ve asked our authors how to remake the…
The evidence to support brain-training programs is too thin to be trialling them in our school system.
Brain image from www.shutterstock.com
The Catholic Education Office in Sydney has announced that from 2013 it will trial the controversial Arrowsmith Program for children with learning difficulties.
Arrowsmith is one of a number of “brain…
Former Prime Minister John Howard is misinformed about the Australian history curriculum.
AAP Image/Julian Smith
There is a great deal of derogatory, evidence-free and ill-informed opinion about how history is taught in Australian schools. But these tired arguments are so often repeated that we can actually put them…
Ranking universities is useful for only understanding the bigger picture.
University image from www.shutterstock.com
The release of The Times Higher Education World University Rankings will be welcomed by many people in the Australian university sector.
See the full list of The Times Higher Education World University…
Finnish education leader Pasi Sahlberg discusses what works and what doesn’t in education.
pasisahlberg.com
The Finnish education system is one of the best performing and most equitable in the OECD.
With Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s promise to make Australia one of the best five performing countries for education…
John Hattie: Welcome to The Conversation. My name is John Hattie from the University of Melbourne and I have here today, Pasi Sahlberg from the Department of Education in Finland.
It’s certainly exciting…
Academics freedom and university reputations are being tested online.
Academic image from www.shutterstock.com
Trying to control your reputation online is a bit like trying to clean up wee in a toddler pool. You are much more likely to get your hands dirty than achieve any kind of meaningful damage control.
Many…
Universities play a vital role in creating a better understanding of Asia – if it is included broadly in curricula.
AAP Image/Julian Smith
Ahead of the soon-to-be-released Asian Century White Paper, Foreign Minister Bob Carr has said Australia needs to “know Asia” in order to prosper.
Delivering a speech to the Asia Society on behalf of…
The story about the sacking of a Melbourne private girl’s school principal has made national news, but why?
Flickr/mikecogh
For more than a week, I’ve seen numerous articles about an internal fight between the Board and Principal of Melbourne’s Methodist Ladies' College, a private girls' school.
Principal Rosa Storelli has…
There may be a new way to assess students' ability to collaborate and problem solve.
Flickr/Lars Plougmann
Prime Minister Julia Gillard recently announced a new goal for Australian schools – they would reach the top five ranked school systems in the world for reading, mathematics and science by 2025.
The ranking…
The role of TAFEs in supporting innovation by anticipating knowledge and skills can’t be easily picked up by universities.
(AAP Image/Joe Castro
TAFE staff are striking today to demonstrate their opposition to unparalleled funding cutbacks totalling almost $300 million imposed by the Victorian State Government.
A recent leaked cabinet paper summarising…
A new parliamentary report has called for urgent action to protect Indigenous languages.
Flickr/Rusty Stewart
It is not often that the opportunity comes along to make a real difference, but a new report into Indigenous languages in Australia has the potential to do just that.
Our Land, Our Languages has already…
What’s the real effect of NAPLAN testing?
AAP Image/Paul Miller
Australian teachers are not convinced that NAPLAN improves the reading and maths skills of students.
Over the next week, NAPLAN results will be arriving at students' homes around Australia. But new research…
Bad NAPLAN results can lead parents to seek help, but which learning programs can they trust?
Test image from www.shutterstock.com
The latest NAPLAN results have arrived, and soon enough thousands of Australian parents will tear open the envelope containing their child’s NAPLAN results.
They will be faced with a series of graphs…
Looking to Asian schools is exactly what we shouldn’t be doing.
Chalkboard image www.shutterstock.com
It was fun while it lasted Finland, but we’re going cold on you. We thought your schools had the secret but our new infatuation is with Asian school systems.
The Prime Minister seems to agree. The government…
The OECD report on education shows Australia could be doing more.
Report card image from www.shutterstock.com
The most recent edition of the OECD’s Education at a Glance released this week, is another report that has invariably been seen as a report card on Australian education.
Australians want to know: how…
State governments are looking at changing the way they deliver education.
AAP Image/Mick Tsikas
At a time when the Commonwealth sponsored Gonski Review of School Funding is recommending an increase of $5 billion a year plus for schools around Australia, it may seem odd that some state governments…
NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli (left) has slashed funding for state schools.
AAP/Paul Millar
Our Liberal-run states are locked into a self-made and self-fulfilling prophesy of budgetary crisis. It seems that running a deficit budget which is at the heart of liberal Keynesian economic theory is…
An experienced lab technician is one of the most readily employable people in the R&D-intensive industries.
fungiman_MD
Earlier this year the American journalist David Plotz wrote in Slate that:
America needs a lot more good engineers and scientists, more competent scientists, even more mediocre scientists.
I agree that…
How will online courses deal with assessment and accreditation?
Cloud computing image www.shutterstock.com.au
Many are proclaiming 2012 is the year of the MOOC — Massive Open Online Course — thanks to the arrival of major players, edX, Udacity and Coursera all started by colleagues from elite American universities…
The government can’t wait any longer, it needs to make changes now to improve Indigenous education.
Aboriginal Art image www.shutterstock.com
In all the discussion, media releases, press conferences and TV coverage of this week’s government response to the Gonski review, it was fascinating that the issue of Indigenous education rated such little…
We’ve had the big announcement on schools funding, but now comes the political reality.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
The battle over the future of Australia’s school funding arrangements has started in
earnest. Outlining the government’s response to the landmark Gonski Review, Prime Minister Gillard spoke of a national…
The Gillard response to the Gonski review was a disappointment and could have been much more.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
Yesterday the Prime Minister announced the government will introduce some of the recommendations of the Gonski Review, including a new model for funding schools.
Many commentators criticised the announcement…
Prime Minister Julia Gillard speaking at the National Press Club yesterday signalled serious changes to the states' role in education.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
After the government’s response to the Gonski report on schools funding, it’s worth looking at not only what was in the announcement but what wasn’t.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard offered no indication…
The Gonski response: increased funding will be tied to concrete improvement in all schools.
AAP
Increased funding will be tied to concrete improvements in all schools under the government’s National Plan for School Improvement, announced on Monday in response to the Gonski Review.
The government…
The PM’s response today was lacking the real boost needed for schools funding now.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
The government has finally delivered its policy response to the Gonski report, including sweeping changes to how schools are funded and new benchmarks that aim to see Australian schools ranked in the world…
The government will boost schools funding today, but what’s next?
Classroom image from www.shutterstock.com
Today the Prime Minister will announce the government’s full policy response on schools funding, following the Gonski report earlier this year.
The Gonski report recommended a funding boost across the…
The debate around teacher quality should be informed by research, not hunches and misinformation.
Teacher image from www.shutterstock.com
All we seem to hear about these days is failing teachers in failing schools. Those from business, government and the field of economics have all weighed in, criticising teachers, teacher educators and…
Schools fear of litigation could be driving bans on “risky” playground activities – like cartwheeling.
Cartwheel image from www.shutterstock.com
A few schools have hit the headlines recently for banning traditional playground activities like cartwheels, handstands, ball games and even high fives.
Parents are rightly objecting to the bans, and…
The government needs to respond to the Gonski report on schools funding and start improving student outcomes.
Schools image from www.shutterstock.com
It’s been six long months since the Gonski panel made its recommendations on schools funding, but in the next few weeks the federal government will finally respond and release the details of its school…
La Trobe’s Vice-Chancellor John Dewar defends his cuts to the humanities program.
ABC News
On Sunday, La Trobe University held its most successful Open Day ever, with more than 19,000 visitors. But the day was disrupted by student protests against recently announced changes to our Faculty of…
Despite online courses available for free, university students still want the experience of bricks and mortar campuses.
University campus image from www.shutterstock.com
MOOCs, or Massive Open Online Courses, are gaining a lot of attention. Some commentators believe that these free internet-delivered courses are the future of university education.
Others meanwhile argue…
The PM should look to her successes in education and build on them by adopting the Gonski recommendations.
AAP Image/Julian Smith
Howʼs this for a radical thought to start the week – a robust contest of ideas around how
we educate Australian students to an internationally competitive standard.
Too quixotic?
Perhaps, but it would…
Schools funding is back in the headlines, but what’s needed is a wider debate about equality.
AAP Image/Paul Miller
Imagine a field of wheat which has been watered unequally. Some parts will grow to their potential, but some won’t. In the end, it’s bad for the whole field’s productivity.
Economist James Galbraith’s…
The pressure on academics is becoming too much, there needs to be cultural change.
Stressed image from www.shutterstock.com
The pressure is on. More and more universities and academics are working in a culture that is untenable and cracks in the ivory tower have already begun to appear.
The work environment is now characterised…
The debate on schools funding has taken a strange turn with both sides racing to increase funding to private schools.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
In a political echo of the unseemly bi-partisan “race to the bottom” over asylum seekers, we now have a “race to the top” with the prime minister and opposition leader vying to offer the most support to…
The government needs to do the maths on school funding and look at which schools need money most.
Schools image from www.shutterstock.com
In the lead up to the government’s response to the Gonski reforms, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has promised no school will lose funding under the new arrangements.
In fact, “every independent school…
By deliberately making false historical sources, students can learn to think more critically.
Historical hoax image www.shutterstock.com
What happens when you teach students how to lie? Answer: they become better historians.
More than a decade ago, back in the days of Web 0.5, a student of mine submitted a generally well-written essay…
Young people and politics aren’t mixing – how can teachers help change that?
Hands image from www.shutterstock.com
How much do students know about politics? Or perhaps a better question is: how much do they care?
Recent polling and studies have caused great consternation amongst commentators about an apparent declining…
The rise of open online courses will affect almost every part of higher education, including the international student market in Australia.
AAP Image/Julian Smith
Mass Open Online Courseware (MOOCs) is less than a year old but it is already clear this will be the game changer in higher education worldwide. Right now it is reverberating through Australian universities…
If we want to keep producing great Olympians, we need to keep sport in schools.
AAP Image/Julian Smith
The post-mortem of Australia’s performance at the Olympics is in full swing. Indeed the knives were being sharpened as early as day two of compeition when the men bombed out of the men’s 4x100m swimming…
Australia’s Olympic Chief John Coates has started a debate about the role of sport in the school curriculum.
School sport image from www.shutterstock.com
Australia’s recent medal performance at the Olympic Games has caused Australia’s Olympic Chief John Coates some concern. Last week, he blamed at least part of the result on a lack of sport in the school…
We could better deal with the onslaught of information and misinformation if we were better educated in argument and debate.
Simon Rankin
Robert Manne’s important essay in The Monthly (August 2012) laments that in the climate change debate “the denialist campaign has won”, a sharp turn for the worse since 2009. Clearly, Manne’s primary purpose…
We need to stop pretending that all ideas are the same.
Flickr/ LiverpoolHopeUniversity
There is a widespread belief amongst teachers that it is part of their duty of care, even a defining aspect of their of professionalism, that all views expressed in the classroom are to be treated equally…
Asking what higher education students should pay is a deceptively straightforward question.
University image from www.shutterstock.com
The Grattan Institute’s most recent report Graduate Winners by Andrew Norton has generated valuable debate about what financial subsidy government should provide for university students.
But before adjusting…
Why do we obsess about the competence of teachers?
Teacher image from www.shutterstock.com
Concern about teacher competence has been around for several decades. Recently, there has been a concerted push by state and federal governments to enact policies to improve “teacher quality”. Meeting…
Education minister Peter Garrett along with his state counterparts have agreed upon some pretty big changes to teacher development.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
Finally, perhaps the time has come. The Australian Charter for the Professional Learning of Teachers and School Leaders and the Australian Teacher Performance and Development Framework, both signed off…
Art history is falling out of favour with universities but why? We need to look at the reasons behind this change.
AAP Image/Warren Clarke
The impending closure of art history at La Trobe University has drawn sharp criticism from academics. They have pointed out that students enjoy art history: it is economical, has enduring value and demonstrably…
The NSW government has made some strong first steps to talk about teaching standards but there’s no policy blueprint yet.
AAP Image/Paul Miller
NSW Education Minister Adrian Piccoli’s discussion paper on teacher education, Great Teaching, Inspired Learning released earlier this week, could be seen as yet another review for a profession literally…
The government is trying to entice more young people to go to university – but can they do it?
AAP Image/Julian Smith
In 1973, the Whitlam Labor government abolished university tuition fees. In 1987, the Hawke Government radically created thousands of extra university places by creating a national system, financing it…
Prime Minister Julia Gillard speaking at the release of the Gonski report in Canberra earlier this year.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
After nearly six months on the policy bench, the Gillard Labor government is planning to release its response to the Gonski review into school funding.
The government is still debating the reforms in…
Opposition education spokesman Christopher Pyne’s recent comments show his misunderstanding of curriculum.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
On the ABC’s Q&A program on Monday night, Shadow Minister for Education Christopher Pyne was asked what the Liberal Party would do about the national (history) curriculum if they came to power. Pyne…
The percentage of maths teachers who struggle with their subject inspires little confidence.
cmiked
Those that can’t do, teach – or so goes the famous saying. But what of those who want to do teaching. What of those who do maths teaching? Can we be sure the job they are doing is the best one for our…
Universities sell more than just lectures and lessons.
Flickr/Butler University
When some of the world’s most prestigious universities – including Harvard and MIT in their edX venture or Stanford and Princeton through Coursera – start putting courses online for free, it tells you…
Shadow education minister Christopher Pyne’s latest statements on teacher training are counterproductive.
AAP Image/Lukas Coch
Opposition Education spokesman Christopher Pyne’s comments to the Sydney Institute this week provoked a new debate on teacher training.
Most of the educational community would agree, and have for at least…
Paying for expensive textbooks could be a thing of the past for university students.
Flickr/Abstract Machine
In the same way that free open online courseware is threatening to disrupt traditional universities, open textbook initiatives such as OpenStax College from Rice University threaten to do the same to the…
If the same parts of Australian history are taught over and over again, we shouldn’t be surprised that students lose interest.
Flickr/murphyeppoon
Buried away in the correspondence columns of last week’s Sunday Age, a former history teacher’s letter “Where’s our history?” started an intense and confused debate about a “threat” by the national curriculum…
Much like the development of the railway in the 19th century, the National Broadband Network (NBN) will transform our society.
Wikimedia Commons
When I grew up in Canada there was a famous painting on the wall of nearly every primary school classroom. It was called “The Last Spike” and it depicted the final railway track connection being hammered…
Getting students hands on experience through a virtual world is the next big step in education.
Flickr/Mercy Health
In higher education, we’ve been talking about “e-learning” for years. But, in practice, we have mostly been teaching in the same way just through different mediums; that is, delivering one-way lectures…
We should not be looking to East Asia as a model for our education system.
EPA/Vincent Jannink
Results from the Chinese university entrance exam, the Gaokao, were released last week. For students, it’s the long culmination of years focusing on tests and learning by rote.
Again and again, East Asian…
Students from the next generation are heading to university, how should we teach them?
Flickr/iwouldstay
Narcissistic, lazy, and overly confident – this is the way some see the new generation of young people starting to go to our universities.
According to teacher Lynn Van Der Wagan, who sparked an online…
Physical attendance at lectures may become a thing of the past.
Flickr/Matt From London
Universities are traditionally seen as exclusive institutions for the few, not the many. But that is changing as a new wave of online courses throws open the doors of academia to all.
Led by world renowned…
David Gonski’s review is starting to fade into the background, but there are a growing number of calls to implement the review’s recommendations.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
The last time school funding occupied so much public and political attention was during the Whitlam years.
Policy makers with long memories will recall that the gestation period for the Karmel report…
A recent report into Indigenous education that points the finger at schools and teachers missed the point.
AAP Image/Dave Hunt
Any work that shines a spotlight on the appalling state of education for Indigenous Australians is to be welcomed.
And so Helen and Mark Hughes are to be commended for their latest effort, a report called…
A good knowledge of the different religions should be part of a National Curriculum.
Flickr/Jake Wasdin
After last week’s High Court challenge verdict on funding chaplains in schools, religious education is back in the headlines.
The role of religion in Australian schools has been vigorously debated for…
There will be an increase in Muslim students in both government and independent schools over the coming years.
AAP/Alan Porritt
AUSTRALIA BY NUMBERS: The Australian Bureau of Statistics has released the first batch of its census data. We’ve asked some of the country’s top demographers and statisticians to crunch the numbers on…
The High Court landmark decision in the school chaplaincy case is an opportunity for reform.
Flickr/petelawley
The historic majority Australian High Court ruling that the National School Chaplaincy Program (NSCP) is “invalid” is a gift to the argument for secular public education.
Secular statutes (for example…
On her recent visit to Thailand, Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said her country had an urgent need for basic education.
EPA/Barbara Walton
On June 1, after decades of struggle to be a legitimate voice for the Burmese people, Aung San Suu Kyi addressed the World Economic Forum on East Asia in Bangkok. She did not raise a call to arms or popular…
Attorney General Nicola Roxon and Minister for School Education Peter Garrett respond to the Williams High Court decision.
AAP Image/Penny Bradfield
Today, the High Court of Australia dramatically altered the previously understood scope of the Commonwealth’s power to spend money and enter into contracts. This decision has immediate repercussions for…
The Prime Minister is selling the Schoolkids Bonus as extra help for families, but is it good policy?
AAP Image/Penny Bradfield
The 2012 federal budget has been described as “a big taxing, big spending budget" with a big focus on welfare. The first spending measure to be legislated and to come into effect is the new Schoolkids…
There were protests against cuts to the ANU’s school of music, but the changes were sorely needed.
Flickr/Orangedrummerboy
The current crisis at the ANU School of Music has widely been reported as being, fundamentally, about money. The Australian National University’s (ANU) Vice-Chancellor Ian Young has cut ten academic and…
The traditional academic world has gone, but what has replaced it?
Flickr/Nick in exsilio
When a friend showed me the blurb for Whackademia: an insider’s account of the troubled university, I immediately left the office to buy a copy, solely on the promise in the title.
I read it in just two…
Advanced computational skills are required for day-to-day work in most areas of modern science.
kodomut
Earlier this week, Senator Chris Evans announced A$5 million worth of science communication grants for 63 projects as part of the Unlocking Australia’s Potential program.
We were successful in getting…
A simple desire to understand the way the world works has landed some Iranian researchers in hot water.
On a given day, your typical physicist is mainly preoccupied with trying to understand the intimate secrets of the universe. As with most academics, we get to visit one another in parts of the world to…
Praising kids all the time might lead to inflated self-esteem and low regard for others.
Flickr/ymc_photos
When most people picture the typical school bully, they think of a kid who is likely to have been bullied themselves. A child with low self-esteem who is trying to make themselves feel better by picking…
Real impact is important when considering how to fund research.
Flickr/Mozzer502
By Vicki Thomson, Australian Technology Network of Universities
When it comes to engaging with industry, government and the broader community, there is one secret weapon that is often overlooked in the university sector – the humble story. The art of storytelling is…
Cutting TAFE funding effects the people that need education and training most.
The phrase “class warfare” has been thrown around a lot in the media and within political circles recently – usually without much basis.
But in Victoria it is very real; the current Liberal Government…
All cut out to fit the same mould? We can’t assume that all universities are trying to be the same.
Flickr/walterh
James Cook University drew a lot of attention in the higher education sector recently by publicly “opting out” of the Times Higher Education (THE) World University rankings. Their reason was simple enough…
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has called on miners to accept that the resources they mine belong to the people.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
Prime Minister Julia Gillard delivered one of her strongest messages to the mining sector last night, telling mining bosses at a Minerals Industry dinner in Canberra that they don’t own Australia’s minerals…
The ANU music school cannot replace live one-on-one teaching with online lessons.
Flickr/Orangedrummerboy
The Australian National University (ANU) has recently announced serious changes to the School of Music in Canberra. Students will receive fewer hours of one-on-one performance lessons, and the current…
The Victorian government’s TAFE cuts have shown other states exactly what not to do.
Flickr/Takver
For years, those concerned with vocational education and training have worried about how to lift the public profile of TAFEs. But what has taken many years for some – without much success – the Baillieu…
We need to take a harder look at Australian education and how we compare internationally.
Flickr/marragem
Following the refusal of the federal government to commit to the Gonski Review and the recent announcement in Victoria of further cuts to already disadvantaged schools and students, the issue of equity…
There’s knowing science, then knowing how to teach it.
B Rosen
Last week’s Health of Australian Science report, by the Chief Scientist of Australia Ian Chubb, has again highlighted the issue of declining student engagement in science in primary and secondary schools…
Why should freedom of the press trump the right of academics to have their say?
Linda Cronin
There has been much discussion about the role of free speech and a free press since the publication last week of the report from the independent inquiry into the Australian media. The review was conducted…
Women are equally represented in academia, but most professors are still men.
Flickr/Herkie
Australian higher education is often seen as a female-friendly industry, with overall numbers of both female students and academic staff outnumbering men. Yet women remain a minority as senior academics…
Chief Scientist Ian Chubb’s report, released today, presents some serious concerns for the future of Australian science.
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
Chief Scientist Ian Chubb’s Health of Australian Science report, launched today at the National Press Club, starts on an optimistic note. Australian science is generally in good health: school students…
The days of ‘sit down, shut up and do your science’ are over. Today’s students ask hard questions.
University of Iowa
Two recently published books suggest that the public – and school children in particular – are being fed lies about environmental issues such as climate change. The books – “How to Get Expelled from School…
The NAPLAN tests are about getting the best results for students.
Flickr/Elizabeth Albert
A small but vocal group is calling on parents to withdraw their children from the National Assessment Program: Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) tests.
But if this call is successful and enough children…
We should be focusing on students' performance not teachers'.
Flickr/cybrarian77
Teacher bonus schemes are yet another example of education reform with the wrong focus. They narrowly look at teachers and their performance, and not the needs of students and their learning. It’s the…
Do we need to go down the Confucian path of learning – or is there another way?
AAP Image/Alan Porritt
As the fifth year of NAPLAN testing gets underway this week, it has prompted the usual debates. Are the tests in our student’s best interests? Are students adequately prepared? If teachers are “teaching…
Despite being considered a scientific taboo in the past, the study of consciousness is slowly gaining momentum.
emmakate deuchars
Until 20 years ago, scientists interested in empirical work on consciousness – our private subjective experiences – hid it by minimising or eliminating the “c-word”, the use of which was a career-limiting…
The government supports an NDIS, but funding must be extended to schools.
AAP/Paul Miller
On being asked the question, “what do you think of disability support in Australia?”, I would have to quote Gandhi’s fabled response when he was asked what he thought of Western civilisation: “I think…
Students learn Korean, one of four principal Asian languages being promoted in Australian schools. The others are Mandarin, Japanese and Indonesian.
EPA/STR
Language experts have applauded Opposition Leader Tony Abbott’s pledge to dramatically boost foreign language education, but warn that a financial investment of about $2 billion and a long-term commitment…
Australia can stand out in the region with the right education priorities.
Night Owl City
AUSTRALIA IN THE ASIAN CENTURY – A series examining Australia’s role in the rapidly transforming Asian region. Delivered in partnership with the Australian government.
Here, Dr Neil Hooley explains how…
Congratulations class of 2011, you’ve been given the opportunity to have real-life professors – future classes might not.
Flickr/Pauls Creative Cakes
The University of Melbourne was founded in 1885 with five professors teaching 15 students. In 1952, at the start of the post-war tertiary boom, there were around 3,000 Australian academics teaching 30…
Australia’s Chief Scientist, Ian Chubb, released a worrying report earlier this year.
Unhealthy Science? University Natural and Physical Sciences 2002 – 2009/10 revealed the number of students studying…
Learning an Asian language will change how you think about the world.
no_typographic_man
AUSTRALIA IN THE ASIAN CENTURY – A series examining Australia’s role in the rapidly transforming Asian region. Delivered in partnership with the Australian government.
Today, Dr Yuko Kinoshita looks at…
The Gonski report was illogical. Now schools have to work out what to do with it.
Foto_di_Signorina
Last month’s review into school funding by esteemed businessman David Gonski was released with much fanfare. But as the dust settles, it is increasingly clear that the report is, overall, a disappointment…
The Gonski review presents a generational opportunity to reform our school funding system.
AAP/Graham Porrit
The Gonski Review sought to create a new funding system for Australian schooling, because what we currently have is a mess. It was to be transparent, fair, financially sustainable and effective in promoting…
David Gonski has conducted the most far-reaching review into school funding in Australia since the Whitlam years.
AAP
School funding has been a tortured issue for government, and especially federal Labor governments, for most of the past half century.
Since the seminal Karmel Report of 1973, the funding levels and relativities…
While the wheels of bureaucracy turn, schools wait for more funding.
Andreas Ebling
A two-year process of research, consultation, public input and expert consideration and analysis is a reasonable route to follow for a government-appointed independent inquiry into a major policy issue…
School funding is under the microscope for the first time in nearly 40 years.
torres21
A much-anticipated review of Australian school funding, spearheaded by businessman David Gonski, was handed to the Gillard government today.
We asked Australian education experts to respond to the report…
Our academic experts crunch the numbers on school funding.
Pink Sherbet Photography
The biggest review of school funding in decades has been handed to the government. The report recommends an injection of A$5 billion to the education sector, three-quarters of which would go to public…
Western Australia may have mining wealth, but how do we fund schools in remote areas?
AAP/Rebecca Le May
At first glance, the Gonski review presents an opportunity to correct the funding gap between “winners” (understood as the private schools) and “losers” (understood as the public schools).
And it is timely…
The Gonski review on school funding is made public on Monday. But how does the division of resources between the government, independent and Catholic sectors affect how students learn in the practical…
Handing out marks is usually for teachers, now the whole school system is under review.
AAP/Stefan Postles
Australia’s educational system must be one of the most over-reviewed in the OECD.
Hundreds of Select Committees – Federal and State, Upper and Lower House in the past 20 years have reviewed teacher quality…
Will Gonski be brave enough to point out what’s wrong with our schooling system?
AAP Image/Jenny Evans
The Gonski review of school funding promises to be a watershed in the history of Australian education. Much is at stake. There is a real chance to fundamentally change the way our divided school system…
The government’s merry dance may come to nothing.
AAP/Joe Castro
When an Australian government is willing to risk losing an election over the way it funds our poorest, most disadvantaged schools, rather than our wealthy schools, only then will meaningful change be possible…
The Federal government has secured rare uniform cooperation from the states on its early years learning reform.
AAP/Paul Miller
Would you pay the equivalent of a coffee a day to guarantee a system whereby Australian children got the best start in life?
From January this year, the Australian education system is changing its approach…
When jobs are disappearing, why are we training more journalists?
flickr
By Diana Bossio, Swinburne University of Technology
It usually begins mid-way through their university career.
My office begins to fill with panicked journalism students who have seen the dismal job vacancies in their field and are starting to think their…
The days of bulky textbooks could soon be behind us.
Apple
Late last week, Apple announced the launch of a new piece of software, iBooks Author, and a new version of its eBook reader, iBooks 2. It’s a development that promises to accelerate the move to interactive…
The mining boom has protected Australia from ill economic winds but will not continue forever.
AAP/Le May
2012 will be a critical time in our development as a nation with huge uncertainties in many areas both in Australia and globally.
Over more than ten years we have lived through a remarkable mining boom…
Australian universities must raise their game to compete in the global education market.
Flickr/Reality-check
The world is in a state of transition.
The Indian and Chinese economies continue to grow at around 9 and 10 per cent respectively each year, while the North Atlantic economies – the 20th century epicentre…
We should be questioning the benefits of holding students back a year.
Wikimedia Commons
Making students repeat a year when they’re not doing well socially or academically is not uncommon in Australia. About 8-10% of students repeat a grade at some point in school life.
But there is a major…
Some students may benefit from leaving school earlier.
Flickr/University of Denver
We claim that society’s most important investment is in the education of its people. But prescribing a school leaving age of 17 is not only
uncomfortable for some but downright constraining for others…
Aborginal students deserve better.
AAP Image/Peter Holmes a Court
There is no excuse for Indigenous education in Australia to be in such a terrible and shameful state.
Given the billions of dollars that are allocated to primary and secondary schooling Australia-wide…
Chinese students may have a different take on the media, but universities in Australia can learn from them.
Flickr/badbrother
There is a vast difference between how China is reported inside and outside the country. And that extends to how media and communication is taught in China and Australia.
One of my new PhD students, who…
Speedy and decisive action is needed from the government to ensure our future energy security.
Flickr/Cayusa
That “Eureka” moment when a student thunders over an educational hurdle opening up a new realm of learning, is the holy grail for educators.
The technical term is a “threshold concept”, and they’re being…
Despite ideas to the contrary, the evidence shows that texting does not make us bad spellers.
Flickr/lanier67
Children and teenagers today do all the things that children and teenagers have more or less always done – they talk to their friends, have dinner with the family, and watch TV.
However, as even the casual…
Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd promised an education revolution, but where are the results?
AAP
All is not well in the Australian school system.
Australian schools are struggling to meet the achievement levels of OECD leader Finland.
With the release of the commissioned research reports for the…
A year four slump can be avoided if children are given the tools to read when very young.
Flickr/Éole
Human speech has long been present in every culture, and our brains have evolved specialized features to enable its rapid development when we are exposed to the speech of others. Reading however is a relatively…
Australians want to learn more about science – it’s more interesting than sport.
travelskerricks/Flickr
Late last year, the media reported the surprising results of an ANU poll. Apparently Australians are “more interested in science than sport”!
But the really interesting news was a small clarification…
A new generation of architects is needed to build our cities.
Flickr/MorBCN
The “future” is something which manifests nowhere more potently than in our cities.
Yet a substantial transformation over the past twenty years in the way cities are being made – both in terms of their…
More maths teachers means better outcomes for students.
Flickr
By Jan Thomas, Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute
There is a crisis in the education system, and it’s affecting the life chances of many young Australians. The number of secondary teaching graduates with adequate qualifications to teach mathematics is…
Welcome to “One small thing …”. We asked our authors what one small thing they, or you, could do for the environment. We’ll bring their answers to you on Friday afternoons.
Today’s one small thing comes…
Some parents send their children to a religious school, but others struggle to choose.
AAP/Alan Porritt
Australia has an unusually high proportion of children enrolled in non-government schools, when compared to similar nations. This dates back to the struggles between colonial governments and Catholic bishops…
Exams aren’t the only way to turn out graduates ready for the world of work.
Flickr/Reality-check
The time has come to abolish university examinations. Just because something has been around a long time there’s no reason to assume it’s outdated. But in the case of exams that assumption would be right…
Pupils at this charter school appreciate President Obama’s support, but it’s not the only option.
Flickr/The White House
Education policy in the United States is paved with some glaring failures. Despite this, many Australian reformers are looking west for inspiration, as the Gonski review of education funding is carried…
The best and the brightest put themselves put themselves through an intellectual ordeal to end up here.
Flickr/Tejvan photos
The most feared exam in the world has been dropped. For over a century those hoping to study at All Souls College in Oxford opened an envelope with trepidation to discover just one word inside. They then…
The Gonski review presents the Government a once in a generation chance to review school funding.
AAP
The current debate about government funding to private schools is misdirected. The issue is (or should be) not at what level should private schools be funded, but whether they are entitled to any funding…
The University of New South Wales Chancellor, David Gonksi, is chairing a review into school funding.
AAP
As a five member panel headed by noted business figure and University of NSW chancellor David Gonski reaches the final stages of its review into the structure of school funding in Australia, lobbying by…
Early intervention is the way to turn children’s chances around.
Paul nine-o/Flickr
Speak to any teacher who has worked in a school with a high level of social disadvantage and you’ll find plenty of concern about the links between educational failure and long-term social exclusion.
Teachers…
The university funding system discourages research on volunteers like these men who are risking their lives to help their community.
Flickr/Rob Down Under
In Australian universities at the moment research is everything. They obsess over the rankings in the new ERA system which measures research performance. For academics publishing in the top journals isn…
International students are not fuelling immigration as much as first thought.
AAP/Tracey Nearmy
If you’re in politics, population matters. Rival studies on what constitutes a sustainable Australian population project wildly different statistics. But behind the figures are real people whose lives…
