Sue Thomson reports that almost one in four (23%) Australian year 8 students were being taught maths in 2018 by teachers whose major qualification was in a field other than maths, hitting disadvantaged schools even harder. Internationally, on average, just one in ten year 8 equivalent...
Jane Elder no longer wonders whether her son is ‘gifted’ – she is just relieved that he has found his own niche. For two years, I stood by helplessly watching a vital and clever little boy transform into a bored and lonely, apathetic child who was...
Starting behind: more than half of young Australian kids living in adversity don't have the skills they need to learn to read, report Sharon Goldfeld, Hannah Bryson, and Jodie Smith Around one in three (36%) Australian children grow up in families experiencing adversity. These include families...
Not every student needs senior maths, but we can make maths more engaging in the earlier school years, writes John Fischetti. In late 2019, New South Wales announced it would make maths compulsory all through school. Victoria will have an additional, easier, year 12 maths subject...
Homeschooling boomed last year, write Rebecca English and Karleen Gribble. But these 4 charts show it was on the rise before COVID Home education, sometimes called homeschooling, is when children are educated outside a formal institution like a school. Parents of home-educated children are wholly responsible for...
We know that quality early childhood education is critical, writes Dr Jan Deans and Professor Collette Tayler but what is actually happening in kindergartens, childcare and homes across Australia? Over five years, dozens of researchers from the University of Melbourne and Queensland University of Technology have...
For children, it's not just about getting enough sleep, reports Yaqoot Fatima. Bed time matters, too Adequate sleep is key to good health, well-being and proper functioning across all life stages but is especially critical for children. Poor sleep can inhibit rapid growth and development in...
In Australia approximately one student in five is bullied at school every few weeks or more often, writes Kenneth Rigby Many of these students suffer serious emotional and psychological harm, such as persistent anxiety, depression and suicidal thinking, and are unable to concentrate on their school...
More kids are being diagnosed with ADHD for borderline (yet challenging) behaviours. Luise Kazda reports that her new research shows why that’s a worry. During my daughter’s challenging first year of school, we discovered how much effort it took her to sit and learn. She was the...
Kate Noble and Sarah Pilcher report that many families in Victoria, Queensland and New South Wales have been paying around double what families in other states and territories pay for preschool. Median out of pocket costs for preschool, per hour, range from A$2.82 to $3.82 in...
