One-third of all preschools may lack a qualified teacher in the next four years, reports Megan O'Connell, if nothing changes, her new modelling shows. Currently, half of all early childhood teachers have a bachelor degree, with a further one-third still working towards one. With many expected...
Clinical Psychologist, Prof Amanda Gordon, looks how parents can support this milestone School is the most important social network for children there is. As children move from infants to primary to high school, the importance of their friendships increases, almost proportionally to their independence. Children need...
Revamped, Reopened and General Admission is Free! The Australian Museum (AM) in Sydney will reopen to the public on Saturday 28 November after a 15 month $57.5m building transformation which has significantly increased public spaces and improved amenities within the historic museum complex on the corner...
NSW wants to change rules on suspending and expelling students. How does it compare to other states? Anna Sullivan, Bruce Johnson, Jamie Manolev and Neil Tippett look at the problems. The disability royal commission heard from experts on the disproportionate number of students with a disability...
Schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the way parents respond to educational programs. In fact, stepping into the role of teacher, support staff and, in some cases, principal, during the lockdown through online learning provided most parents with a window into how their children learn, and...
Writing needs to be taught and practised. Australian schools are dropping the focus too early, report Claire Wyatt-Smith and Christine Jennifer Jackson The recently released report of the NAPLAN review — commissioned by the New South Wales, Queensland, Victorian and Australian Capital Territory education ministers —...
If you want to fast-track your child’s development, forget CDs, books that beep, and toys that whirr, writes Liam Viney. Play music with them, with the emphasis being on “play”. Forget the Mozart Effect and Baby Einstein, take it easy on acquisitions for your two-year-old’s private...
Only 18% of books available in four Australian childcare centres include non-white characters reports Helen Joanne Adam in her recent study Animal characters make up around half the books available, with the animals largely leading lives, and adhering to values, of middle-class Caucasians. My study, published in...
After many years of observing boys naturally gravitating towards digging, fossicking, climbing and collecting, an inspiring natural playground was constructed for the boys of Sydney Grammar School St Ives Preparatory. Broadly speaking, as families have become busier, children have become less active, distracted by the allure...
As we struggle to understand how some world leaders can show disrespect and bad behaviour, Maggie Dent suggests ways to encourage respectful, ‘good’ behaviour using three simple rules The three rules: Please try not to hurt yourself others things in the world around us. I encourage families to...
