Australia’s preschool expansion ‘has not better prepared’ kids for school, report researchers Ragan Petrie and Marco Castillo Since 2008, Australia has spent more than A$11 billion dollars over ten years to expand government-funded preschool (or kinder in Victoria) for four-year-olds to better prepare children for school. But...
Elvira Kalenjuk reports that recent data from the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) shows that many Year 9 students are writing at standards well below expected levels. Several commentators have attributed low writing achievement to illness and high rates of absenteeism because of the pandemic,...
Randa Abdel-Fattah demystifies the values and practices of Australia’s Islamic schools, of which she was a pioneering student. I graduated from St Clement of Rome Primary School in Melbourne in 1990. I was one of a small number of Muslim students, but my parents didn’t feel...
A Senate inquiry is calling for a new ‘behaviour curriculum’ to try and tackle classroom disruptions reports researcher Erin Leif A Senate inquiry has found Australian students need specific lessons in how to behave. The inquiry, which has been looking at “increasing disruption in Australian school classrooms,”...
Esperanza Vera-Toscano reports that an increasing number of Australian children are going to private high schools, as new research shows. The latest Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Annual Statistical Report has found an increasing number of students going to public schools over non-government...
Jayne Kearney finds a way to steer her daughter through the mysteries of multiplication. When I was training to become a teacher, our class was presented with two ways to motivate our future students: extrinsically and intrinsically. Extrinsic motivation is when a child will do something in...
Katrina Hartley’s daughter, who was born with spina bifida, made a successful transition to school. My daughter Hanna was born 7 years ago. While most parents agree that tiredness is a part of parenting, my husband, Bruce, and I are truly exhausted as Hanna was born...
Mandie Shean gives advice on what parents can do about it. Bullying is unfortunately a common problem in Australian schools, with surveys suggesting one in five teenagers are bullied. While schools are responsible for ensuring a safe environment, parents are likely to be distressed and unsure about...
Get them to join a choir, orchestra or band! Write researchers Dr William James Baker, Anne-Marie Forbes and Dr Kim McLeod One of the most important qualities for a young person to develop is resilience. This involves their ability to overcome adversity. Resilience is perhaps more important now...
Meena Jha reports that Contract cheating – where commercial cheating services provide assignments for university students – has become a global problem. Australia is not immune. According to the latest data, record numbers of Australian students are paying someone else to do their assessments. This comes amid...
