The computers for schools program, which involved federal funding for the supply of laptops to high school students, is set to end in June. The program was a central piece of the former government’s “digital…
Student achievement has been found to be most influenced by parents’ aspirations and expectations for their children’s development along with active involvement in their learning. Parents must be supporters…
The government has released its review on the success of the demand-driven system of higher education funding, implemented by the former Labor government. The demand-driven system uncapped Commonwealth…
Tim Pitman, Curtin University; Conor King, La Trobe University; Geoff Sharrock, The University of Melbourne, and Hamish Coates, The University of Melbourne
The Federal Government has released a review into the demand-driven system of higher education funding implemented by the Labor government. The review, undertaken by David Kemp and Andrew Norton, largely…
The government commissioned review of the demand driven funding system of universities, undertaken by David Kemp and Andrew Norton has been released today. As many commentators speculated, it is broadly…
High-profile cases of racial discrimination on the sporting field and on public transport capture the media’s attention, but we hear less about racism in our schools. One survey of secondary students across…
High school can be difficult for youths with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders, who often have IQs superior to the general population, but can struggle with communication, social skills, and regulating…
Many children with autism find aspects of everyday life difficult, and school is no exception. School is a complex environment at the best of times, but even more so if you struggle with social situations…
A Grattan Institute report I co-authored highlights student debt costs, with the finding that the government could save $800 million a year by retrieving unpaid debts from deceased estates and students…
Garth Stahl, University of South Australia and Pete Dale, Manchester Metropolitan University
Since the 1970s, a panic about “disaffected” boys underachieving in formal schooling has gripped Western society. Despite efforts in Australia like Boys: Getting It Right and the UK Raising Boys Achievement…
About a decade ago I had a slightly prickly conversation with an Australian who had just returned from a business trip to China. As usual, I was grumbling about the legendary reluctance of Australians…
“I think it’s more than a tad hypocritical of the Labor Party to be campaigning against what it says are cuts to school funding when Bill Shorten as education minister cut $1.2 billion out of school funding…
How do we humans end up using language in a way that conforms to grammatical rules? Recent research, using artificially designed languages, has disproved what many scientists used to think, that grammar…
The recent announcement by assistant education minister Sussan Ley that the 15-hour preschool entitlement introduced by the ALP in 2013 may be wound back to 12 hours signals a worrying trend in Australian…
The cost of the national student loan debt held by the federal government has gathered pace to pop the A$30 billion mark, perpetuating rumours that a debt sale could be on the cards. Should that happen…
As one in four Australians is now born outside of Australia, many children are growing up with other languages spoken at home. Should parents speak to their child in their first language, or attempt to…
Do the clothes make the teacher? This certainly appears to be the attitude of NSW education minister Adrian Piccoli who released details of a new dress code starting in term two for the state’s 70,000…
Being literate used to be about knowing how to read. In the 21st century it also means knowing how to negotiate through the torrent of information coming at you from all directions. Information Fatigue…
Within a few months of coming to office the Abbott government established a Vocational and Education and Training (VET) Reform Taskforce. Over the past two years there have been three separate parliamentary…
In many countries including Australia, gender-segregated instruction is common. Differing structures of single-sex education are offered in both independent and state schools, because it is believed to…
A parent with a small child in a stroller is walking along the footpath with headphones in. The child is crying, the parent is oblivious. A parent walks into a cafe engaged in conversation on the phone…
With technology changing the landscape of higher education, The Conversation is running a series “Re-imagining the Campus” on the future of campus learning. Here, Mary Leahy considers the impact of allowing…
This is a revised excerpt of a talk given to students at the Inaugural Australian Youth Humanities Forum, hosted at the University of Melbourne’s Parkville campus. After two days at this fine conference…
In their recently published book, The Dyslexia Debate, Joe Elliott and Elena Grigorenko controversially call for the term “dyslexia” to be abandoned. They argue it is an imprecise label that does nothing…
Children are natural philosophers. Ask anyone who has encountered a three-year old constantly asking the question “Why?” Yet how often do we encourage the questions children ask and really take the time…