Columnists articles

‘A quality education always starts with a great teacher’. In her final column of the year, Julia Gillard shares details of some of the programs aimed at improving the recruitment, training and support of teachers in developing nations.

In his final Teacher column of the year, OECD Director of Education and Skills Andreas Schleicher argues the biggest risk to schooling today isn’t its inefficiency, but that our way of schooling is losing its purpose and relevance.

Dr Sue Thomson addresses three broad areas that may hold females back from participation in STEM subjects in school and in entering these careers, providing teachers with the knowledge to address the underlying issues.

Professor Geoff Masters AO has been saying recently that the Gonski 2.0 recommendations may provide our best hope of reversing the long-term decline in the reading, mathematics and science levels of Australian 15-year-olds. Why does he say this? Find out more in his latest Teacher column.

Much discussion of evidence-based teaching is based on a narrow definition that would benefit from a broader recognition of the role of evidence in teaching and learning, Professor Geoff Masters AO writes in his latest Teacher column.

In his new Teacher column, OECD Director of Education and Skills Andreas Schleicher outlines several strategies for elevating the teaching profession, including strengthening professional autonomy, trust and the collaborative culture.

One of the main resources in schools is teachers, and in this column Dr Sue Thomson looks at the provision of teachers to advantaged and disadvantaged students in Australia.

There are still many children who live in a world where even the most basic of school infrastructure does not exist. In her latest column, Julia Gillard shares how the Global Partnership for Education is helping to get infrastructure and supplies to schools in conflict-affected countries – from classroom furniture in Yemen to handwashing stations in Sierra Leone.

'Reading is much more than a tool for education or work.' What do Year 4 students think about reading? Is it fun? Do they think they learn anything? Dr Sue Thomson explores these questions in her first Teacher column.

'Some have interpreted Gonski’s proposal as requiring teachers to develop an individual learning plan for every student. This is impossible in practice.' The recent Gonski report calls for a new model of school education. This is a big call. What is this new model? Professor Geoff Masters AO discusses.